


The Great Escape

by Mangoesaregood8



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: AU, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Sex, Smut, ships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-04
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-02-28 02:27:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2715536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mangoesaregood8/pseuds/Mangoesaregood8
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alan is dying from the Thorns of Death and Eric has been collecting souls behind Alan's back to try and save him.  Alan finds out one night and demands Eric to stop.  Eric reluctantly promises, but they need to get out of the area so they don't get caught.  They leave their scythes and glasses behind and run away to try and start a new, more human, life in America.  Will they be able to escape London, or will Grell, Will, and Ronald catch them and turn them in?<br/>((This work contains smut, a bit of crack, and OC's.  Written in collaboration with alanslingby.))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Eric, we need to talk." Alan's voice came from the hallway as he rounded the corner into the living room. He stood in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. He didn't look too happy.

  
"Of course, love, what do we need to talk about?" Eric asked, looking up, a bit concerned with his facial expression.

  
"Well... I want you to stop treating me like a child. I'm an adult. A reaper at that!"

  
Eric looked at Alan, frowning. "What do you mean? I don't treat you like a child."

  
Alan's frown deepened. "Yes you do. You don't allow me in the kitchen-"

  
"That's because there's sharp knives in there," Eric interjected. "And the stove is hot."

  
"And you've replaced the bed with pillows-"

  
"It's so you don't fall off! That mattress was a bit high..." Eric interrupted again.

  
Alan didn't look impressed. He walked forward to the table and pulled a piece of Styrofoam off of one of the corners.

  
"And the corner bumpers? Are these really necessary?"

  
"Alan! Put that back on! You could fall and hit your head!" Eric jumped up for the corner bumper and placed it back on the table.

  
"Eric, are you even listening to yourself? You're treating me like some two year old who's not able to fend for itself. I'm an adult. A reaper even, and yet you still insist upon treating me as though I am two. I may have the Thorns, but I can still take care of myself."

  
"Alan, I'm just worried about you. I don't want you to get hurt," Eric said, standing up and going over to hug Alan.

  
Alan held up his hands, trying to push Eric away.

  
"Alan... Please? I'm just trying to keep you safe."

  
Alan frowned. "I know you are, but this is just too extreme!" He threw his hands up in frustration then started taking the other corner bumpers off of the table, throwing them on the floor.  
"Alan! What are you doing?" Eric started picking them up to put them on the table again.

  
"Eric! Stop that!" Alan slapped his hand and started taking them off again.

  
Eric frowned and sighed. "All right, all right. I'll put the bed back and... Alan, I'll let you into the kitchen, but you have to be careful around the stove. But can I at least leave these on the tables?" He asked, putting the block of Styrofoam back on the table.

  
Alan huffed and pulled it off, easily snapping it in half.

  
"Alan!" Eric frowned, picking up the broken bumper. "Now I have to go fix this..."

  
"No Eric. You either take everything off of the tables and put the bed back and treat me like the responsible adult I am, or you'll be sleeping on the couch." He crossed his arms over his chest once more.

  
"Come on Alan... You know I'm only doing all of this because I love you and I'm worried about you."

  
"Do you really want to sleep on the couch?" Alan wasn't going to budge in his argument.

  
"What? Alan, this is my flat, you can't make me sleep on the couch!"

  
"I can and I will. Now go get a pillow and a blanket so you can be comfortable."

  
Eric frowned. "You don't fight fair Alan..." Eric hung his head in defeat and shuffled off to the room that he and Alan had normally shared. He got his pillow and a blanket and make up a little bed on the couch.

  
"Are you really going to make me sleep out here?" Eric asked with a frown.

  
"Yes. Now go put the bed back."

  
"What? But Alan! What if you fall off?"

  
"Fine then, I'll just go put it back myself." He turned and headed back towards the bedroom.

  
"Alan, that mattress is way too heavy for you, you're going to get hurt or give yourself a heart attack or something!" Eric went after him and stood in the hallway to block Alan's path to the bedroom.

  
"It is not! I can handle it on my own!" Alan tried to push past Eric, but he wouldn't budge.

  
"Eric, let me through!" Alan frowned and pushed harder.

  
"Alan, if you can't even move me, how do you have any hope of moving a mattress?"

  
Alan shoved harder, still not having much success.

  
"Eric, will you just move the bloody bed?"

  
Eric sighed. Do I still have to sleep on the couch?"

  
Alan crossed his arms, avoiding Eric's gaze. "Yes you do. I'm still cross with you.

  
Eric smirked. "Are you now?" He asked.

  
"Yes, I am. Now are you going to replace the bed, or do I have to do it myself?"

  
Eric sighed in defeat. "All right, all right, I'll go put the bed back." He turned around and headed to the bedroom with Alan close behind him.

  
Eric started going about picking up the pillows and the blankets that were strewn across the floor. He folded up the blankets and put them in the closet before stacking up the pillows in the corner of the room. He grabbed the mattress that was leaning against the wall and placed it back on to the bed frame.

  
"Are you sure you want to do this Alan? It looks awfully high."

  
"Eric, I'm not an infant. I am perfectly capable of sleeping in a bed.

  
"All right..." Eric sighed and went back to the closet to get out the bed sheets and started to make the bed, making sure to get Alan's favorite pillow, and set them on the bed, making sure to fluff each and every one.

  
"There. The bed is made and your pillows are fluffed. Are you happy now?" Eric asked with a frown.

  
"Not quite," Alan said, picking a piece of lint off of his sleeve.

  
"Bloody hell, what else could you possibly want?"

 

"I want to be allowed in the kitchen."

  
"Alan, come on, the kitchen is a dangerous place. There's knives and ... the stove and...-"

  
"Eric! How many times much I tell you that I'm not a child? I'm not going to go touching a hot stove! And knives? I handle a death scythe every day. I don't think a knife is going to pose much of a threat to me."

  
"And it's exactly that kind of attitude that's got me worried in the first place."

  
"Eric..." Alan growled.

  
"All right, all right. You can go into the kitchen." Eric frowned. He wasn't having a good night.

  
"Thank you." Alan smiled softly and pecked him on the cheek. "Now, was that really so hard?" A triumphant smile was plastered onto his face.

  
Eric only grumbled.

  
"Eric, I was wondering..."

  
"Aye... What do you want now?" He frowned and sat down on the edge of the bed.

  
"Well, I was wondering if perhaps we could bake a cake together."

  
Eric looked up, a bit confused. "A cake? Right now?"

  
Alan nodded. "Yes. Would that be a problem?"

  
Eric smiled softly. "It's not a problem at all. What kind of cake would you like?"

  
"Hm... I was thinking a chocolate... Or perhaps a red velvet? Oh! I know. I want a yellow cake!" He smiled happily.

  
"Of course! A yellow cake it is then." Eric smiled and got up and led Alan to the kitchen, hesitating a moment before stepping over the threshold. Alan rolled his eyes and walked in without hesitation. Alan and Eric put on their aprons and went about baking their cake. As they were icing the cake, Alan took a finger full of icing and wiped it on Eric's chin.

  
"Oi! What was that for?" Eric protested.

  
Alan smirked and licked it off. Eric returned the smirk and kissed Alan gently.

  
"Shall we try our the fruits of our labor then?" Alan asked, picking up one of the knives.

  
Eric took the knife and cut them both generous sized pieces and placed them on plates. He handed on of the plates to Alan and handed him a fork. Alan took a bite and smiled.

  
"Do you like it?" Eric asked, smiling softly.

  
"Yes, of course~ Anything made by you tastes amazing." Alan sat up on the counter and continued eating his cake. He looked up when he noticed that Eric was standing between his legs.

  
"Hello there love," Eric greeted with a warm smile.

  
Alan looked at Eric. "May I help you?"

  
"You have something right here." Eric used his thumb to wipe some icing from the corner of Alan's mouth and licked it clean.

  
"Ah, thank you." Alan finished his cake and set his plate down.

  
"So, did you enjoy your dessert?" Eric asked, wrapping his arms around Alan's waist with a smirk.

  
"Very much so. Though I think I might want more." Alan returned the smirk and wrapped his arms around Eric's neck.

  
"My my, a bit greedy tonight, aren't we? But I think I could give you a bit more." Eric leaned forward and kissed Alan deeply, stepping closer to press their bodies together.

  
Alan groaned softly into the kiss and tangled his fingers in Eric's hair, tugging lightly. Eric ran his hands up Alan's sides to his neck and undid the clasp of his bolo tie. He placed it on the counter and started undoing the buttons on Alan's jacket and vest. He ran his fingers down the lightly clothes torso beneath him. Alan writhed beneath his fingertips.

  
Eric looked down and noticed the small tent forming in Alan's trousers.

  
"I've barely touched you and you're already getting excited?" Eric smirked and bit roughly of Alan's pulse point.

  
A small yelp escaped Alan's lips and he wrapped his legs around Eric's waist, rubbing their half hard arousals together.

  
"Well... It has been a while... With you working overtime and all." Alan leaned up to kiss Eric passionately. Eric's tongue dove straight in, exploring the hot cavern. Oh it had just been too long since he and Alan were together. He missed everything, from the lithe, supple, yet delicate body beneath his fingertips. The beautiful sounds pouring from Alan's mouth, his smell, his taste, his feel Eric wanted every part of Alan's being to himself.

  
Alan finally broke the kiss, panting softly. "Eric, perhaps we ought to move to the bedroom?" He asked as Eric's lips traveled over his neck.

  
"If you'd like." Eric picked up Alan and carried him to the bed. he laid Alan down and straddled his hips. He slowly undid the buttons to his shirt and kissed at every inch of newly exposed skin. He murmured Alan's name against his skin.

  
"Oh gods..." Alan's moan was a bit breathless. "It's been far too long..."

  
Eric started grinding their hips together and Alan gasped softly. He undid the rest of the buttons on Eric's shirt and let it fall to the floor.

  
Eric shifted to that Alan was now in his lap and let his fingers trail down Alan's torso, tracing over the delicate scars that wound over his skin. A shudder ran down Alan's spine. Eric's fingers rested over the buckle of Alan's belt before he undid it, pulling the belt from its loops. He unbuttoned Alan's trousers and pulled out his fully hard member. Alan groaned softly as the pressure on his member was relieved.

  
Eric leaned closer and whispered in Alan's ear. "I want you Alan. I want to be inside of you." He nipped at Alan's earlobe, tugging gently with his teeth.

  
"T-Then take me..." Alan's back arched slightly as Eric's hand moved along his shaft. He bit his lip to hold back another moan.

  
Eric bucked his hips up and Alan gasped loudly. Alan wrapped his arms around Eric's neck and leaned forward to connect their lips in a deep and passionate kiss. Eric's lips against his own, his member throbbing almost painfully. He wanted his so badly.

  
Eric pulled Alan's trousers and shorts down all of the way, leaving Alan naked in front of him. he simply admired the man in front of him. Alan could feel his cheeks heating up. He looked down.

  
"That looks a bit painful. Perhaps we ought to take care of it?" Alan asked, looking down at the large tent in Eric's own trousers.

  
Eric could feel the intense throbbing originating deep within his own groin. His trousers had grown almost unbearably tight. Alan reached down to undo the buckle of Eric's belt and freed his member. Eric groaned softly as he was freed from the tight containment of his trousers.

  
"No shorts today?" Alan asked with a smirk, pulling off the trousers.

  
"Of course not." Eric lifted his hips to allow his trousers to slip to the floor. "They don't give you as much freedom."

  
Alan moved out of Eric's lap and reached into the nightstand for a small bottle of oil. He handed it to Eric and laid back on the bed.

  
Eric immediately opened up the bottle and slicked up his fingers. He spread Alan's legs further and sat between them. He looked down at Alan, who was completely exposed in front of him. A thin layer of sweat had begun to form on his skin. His hair was damp and handing in his eyes. His face held a subtle blush, and he was breathing heavily. His member was standing ram rod straight. Eric could see the silent plea for more in his eyes and Eric wasn't about to deny him. He let one of his fingers circle Alan's taught hole.

  
"Are you ready love?" He asked. His voice was tender, yet dripping with lust.

  
"I've been ready. I want you." Alan spread his legs a bit further and Eric pushed the first finger inside of him. Alan groaned softly and pressed down against the finger.

  
"Already ready for a second?" Eric asked, pressing a second fingers through the tight ring of muscle.

  
Alan bit his lip and whimpered softly.

  
"You alright, Alan?" Eric asked, concern evident in his voice.

  
"Y-Yes. Just give me a minute." Alan tried to relax, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

  
Eric waited until he felt Alan relax around him before his scissored his fingers slowly, trying to stretch Alan out. he crooked his fingers to brush against Alan's prostate and smirked at the loud moan it elicited. As Alan grew accustomed to the intrusion of fingers, Eric added the third and final one. Alan gasped sharply. Eric gave him a moment to adjust before moving his fingers slowly, wanting to properly stretch Alan out. He knew Alan was ready when he started riding and pressing down on his fingers. Eric slowly withdrew them and spread a generous amount of oil on his member. He lined himself up with Alan's entrance, teasing the relaxed hole. Alan whimpered softly and wrapped his legs around Eric's waist.

  
"Gods Eric, stop teasing..." Alan bit his lip in anticipation.

  
Eric nodded and leaned down, kissing Alan deeply. He slowly pushed himself inside of Alan. He kept going until he was completely engulfed inside of Alan. Alan gasped loudly, his head tilting back against the pillows. His legs tightened around Eric's waist.

  
Eric kissed down Alan's jaw to his neck. He bit gently over his pulse point. A small whimper escaped Alan's lips.

  
Eric knew Alan was ready for him to start moving when Alan started rocking his gently. Eric took it slow at first, with gentle, shallow thrusts. Alan wrapped his arms around Eric's neck and met his thrusts. Eric was rubbing against the right bundle of nerves to turn him into a whimpering, moaning mess, and Alan wanted more.

  
Eric smirked against Alan's neck, increasing the speed of his thrusts. He reached down between Alan's legs to stroke his weeping member.

  
"Eric...! Please don't stop!" Alan panted out. His back arched off of the bed as Eric pounded into the sensitive bundle of nerves, deep inside of him.

  
"Eric!" he cried out, his nails raking up the other man's back.

  
Eric's thrusts were growing more untimed and frenzied as he grew closer to his own release. He stroked Alan faster, determined to bring him to release before himself.  
"E-Eric! I..." Alan trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. His brain was too far wracked with pleasure to think coherently.

  
"M-Me too..." Eric groaned loudly as Alan's muscles clenched around him.

  
Alan's back arched far off of the bed, and he cried out Eric's name as he was brought over the edge, climaxing into Eric's hand. He hung on to Eric for dear life.  
Eric climaxed not too long afterwards, his seed splling deep inside of Alan. He moaned Alan's name softly into the other's ear.

  
Both were shaking from the force of their climaxes. Eric took a moment to catch his breath before slowly pulling out of Alan. Alan whimpered softly, feeling quite empty.  
"Let me clean you up. Then we can get some sleep." Eric pushed himself out of the bed and went to the bathroom to get a wet cloth. He came back and sat on the edge of the bed.

  
"Can you spread your legs a bit Alan?"

  
Alan nodded lazily, a slight blush spreading across his cheeks, and spread his legs apart. Eric quickly cleaned him up and rinsed off the rag before putting it away. He went back to the bed room and quickly climbed under the covers, wrapping an arm around Alan. Alan moved closer to Eric and nuzzled into him.

  
"I love you Eric." He smiled softly, kissing Eric's chest gently.

  
"I love you too Alan." Eric kissed the top of his head and closed his eyes. He was exhausted from the long day and was very ready for some sleep. Within minutes, he was asleep.

  
Alan smiled softly as he heard the quiet snoring coming from Eric.

  
"Good night Eric," he whispered. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep himself.  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

About an hour later, Alan was still fast asleep in Eric's arms. However, Eric was just waking up. He slowly slid out of Alan's hold, putting a pillow in his place. He walked about the room, quietly getting dressed. he paused every so often, trying not to wake up Alan. he finished getting dressed, tied up his tie and grabbed his scythe. He left the room, closing the door behind him.  
Eric quietly crept to the front door and was about to open it when he heard a sound behind him. He turned around, his scythe ready to strike.  
"Alan?!" He looked up at the top of the stairs, confused. "I thought you were asleep!" He put his scythe down.  
"And I thought you were asleep." Alan crossed his arms over his chest.  
"What are you doing up?" Eric asked, leaning his scythe against the wall.  
"I could ask you the very same thing. Where do you think you're going this late at night?"  
Eric hesitated. "I... I'm going to work. There's a few souls that I need to collect tonight."  
"If you're going to work, then why do you sound so nervous? Better yet, why wouldn't you tell me that you have work?"  
Eric bit his lip, trying to think of what to say.  
"You're lying, aren't you? You aren't really going to work, are you?"  
"Of course I'm going to work Alan." He frowned. "Where else would I be going?"  
Alan frowned deeply. "You're lying to me Eric. I know you are. You're going out to see some woman, aren't you?" He started walking down the steps towards Eric.  
"Why would I bring my scythe to see some woman?" Eric crossed his arms over his chest.  
"Why would I know? I don't know all of your kinks. Perhaps you were using it to throw me off?"  
"Alan, seriously. I'm only going to collect these souls and then come right back."  
"So if I were to call William right now, he would agree?"  
"Aye, he would. But don't go calling Spears at this time of night. I don't think he would appreciate it too much.  
Alan frowned. "Fine then." He didn't look as though he were truly believing Eric's story.  
"I'm going back to bed. Good night Eric." He turned and went back upstairs to the bedroom, closing the door with a bit more force than was necessary.  
Eric wince, hearing the door slam.  
"Bloody hell... It's going to be a rough morning..." He sighed heavily and grabbed his scythe and headed out for the night.  
It was very early in the morning when Eric returned to his shared flat. He closed the door and kicked off his boots. He laid his scythe against the wall next to Alan's and took off his jacket and his tie and put them on the coat rack.  
He was having trouble keeping his eyes opened as he stumbled up the steps and into the bed room.  
Alan was fast asleep, even snoring softly. Eric smiled softly and took off his shirt. He threw his shirt over to where the dirty clothes sat in the corner of the room and practically flopped into the bed. He was too tired to change out of his trouser or even take off his glasses.  
Alan felt something warm in his sleep lay down next to him. He curled up into it, smiling softly in his sleep. Eric wrapped his arm around Alan and quickly fell asleep, dreading the alarm that would go off in an hour or so.  
Alan groaned as he was woken up by the loud ringing of the alarm clock. He reached over blindly, managing to turn it off. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes before putting on his glasses. He looked down and smiled softly, seeing Eric fast asleep next to him. He frowned momentarily, remembering the events that had transpired last night. He shook his head, deciding to let them go for now.  
He placed a hand on Eric's shoulder and shook him gently.  
"Eric? It's time to wake up."  
There was no response. Only the gentle rising and falling of his breathing.  
"Eric? Come on love, we're going to be late."  
Eric opened his eyes slowly. "Hm...?"  
"Come on you sleepy head, you need to wake up." Alan rubbed his back firmly, trying to help the other wake up more.  
"It's too early..." Eric grumbled, hiding his face into the pillows.  
"Oh no you don't. Eric, wake up." Alan started patting Eric's face.  
"All right, I'm up, I'm up..." Eric frowned and sat up, yawning.  
"Good. Now I'm going to go shower. Don't you dare fall asleep on me again." Alan got out of the bed, stretching his back. He got a clean towel and went into the bathroom to shower.  
When Eric hear the door close, he groaned and sat up further, rubbing at his temples. He felt awful. His head was pounding from lack of sleep. He wanted nothing more than to lay back down an fall back asleep. He wasn't about to risk it though. He had already made Alan upset with him last night. He didn't need to start another row.  
Eric threw the cover off unwillingly and pushed himself out of the bed. He shuffled down the stairs to start making coffee. He'd be asleep before they even left the house without it.  
Once the coffee was done, Eric got out a mug and poured himself a generous helping, making sure to leave some for Alan. He started drinking his own, not bothering to add any cream or sugar.  
As Eric was savoring his coffee, Alan came downstairs, fresh from the shower.  
"Nice to see you awake." Alan grabbed his own mug and fixed himself some coffee, adding a generous amount of cream and sugar. He inhaled the aroma before taking a sip.  
"Ahh... Much better." He smiled softly, starting to wake up more.  
Eric nodded, finishing his own cup of coffee.  
"We ought to get moving." Eric put his mug in the sink after rinsing it out. He went back upstairs to get dressed for the day before heading for the door.  
Alan finished his own coffee and rinse out his cup. He grabbed his scythe, making sure that Eric had his scythe before walking out, locking the door behind him.  
Eric hailed them a carriage and climbed in, leaving the door open for Alan. When Alan got inside, Eric was already asleep. He gave the driver directions and closed the door.  
'Just what was he up to last night? He's completely tuckered out.' Alan thought to himself.  
After a twenty minute carriage ride, they finally arrived at the dispatch building. Alan shook Eric's shoulder.  
"Eric. Wake up. We're here."  
Eric groaned softly, rubbing at his eyes. "What?"  
"We're at work. You need to wake up now."  
Eric sat up and stretched.  
"You looked tired... What in death's name were you up to last night?"  
"I already told you, I was working." His accent was thick with sleep. He got out of the carriage and went inside. Alan paid the driver and got out. He went inside and headed for the lift. Eric headed for the stairs.  
"I'll meet you upstairs then."  
Eric nodded and started making his way upstairs.  
Alan pressed the button and waited for the lift to open before going inside. He pressed the eleven button. He waited for the lift to go up to his floor. He looked at the dent in the handrail running along the back of the lift. The one that kept getting deeper whenever Eric was on the lift. When he was there, he would hold on to the rail for dear life, and dart out of the lift as soon as the doors opened. But no matter how many times Alan asked, or even begged, Eric would never admit to why he was so afraid of the lift. he wouldn't even admit that he was afraid of it.  
Alan sighed and stepped out of the lift, heading over to his own office. As he passed Eric's office, he peeked inside. Eric was working on a report of sorts, getting frustrated when the words just wouldn't come to him.  
"Alan went to his own office and sat down in his char. Perhaps Eric really was working last night. But then again, Eric was notorious for completing his reports late. Something about this whole situation just wasn't sitting well with Alan. He got up and went over to William's office and knocked on the door.  
"It is open. Come in."  
Alan opened the door and stepped inside quickly before closing it behind him.  
"May I help you Mr. Humphries?" Will asked, looking up from the report he was going over.  
"Yes, I was wondering if I might ask you a question."  
"Yes Mr. Humphries. What is it?"  
"I was wondering if Mr. Slingby had any collections scheduled for last night."  
"Mr. Slingby?" Will took a moment to go through his ledger. "No, he did not. In fact, no one did."  
Alan frowned. "He said he had a collection last night..." he mumbled to himself.  
"What was that Mr. Humphries?"  
"Oh, nothing... It's just that Eric said that he had a few collections last night but... Well, you say he didn't."  
Will frowned. "He said what?"  
"Oh! Nothing. I was just talking to myself. Thank you Mr. Spears." Alan left the office, his rage building until he was banging on Eric's door.  
"Eric Colin Slingby, you open this bloody door right now!" Alan spat through gritted teeth.  
Eric frowned but opened the door. "What do you want?" He knew it wasn't the best reply at the moment, but he wasn't too enthused by the less than happy greeting he received.  
Alan pushed Eric aside and shut the door behind him. "Where were you last night?"  
"This again? I keep telling you, I was out working." Eric crossed his arms over his chest.  
"No you weren't."  
"What do you mean no I wasn't? How can you tell me what I was and wasn't doing?"  
"Because I just asked William. You weren't working. You weren't scheduled for any collections. Where were you?"  
Eric frowned. "Okay, fine. I wasn't working."  
"Then where were you? Why is it so hard to answer the question?" Alan's voice was rising in volume with anger.  
Eric's was too. "Because I shouldn't have to."  
"What do you mean you shouldn't have to?"  
Eric stepped a bit closer over Alan. "Because you should be able to trust me! Why do you need to know where I am all the time? Why don't you just have someone follow me around then if you want to know so badly?"  
"Trust you? Trust you?! You want me to trust you? After what you just did? You expect me to trust you after you lied to me And you were sneaking out last night! How do you think that looked to me? If you want me to trust you then tell me where you went!"  
"I don't have to tell you shite!" Eric yelled, resisting the strong urge to shove Alan out of his office.  
"Excuse me? Eric, I am your partner! If anything, you ought to tell me everything! I always tell you where I go. Why can't I know where you go?"  
"Because you should just be able to trust I won't go out and do something stupid!"  
"Like sneaking around behind my back? How long has that been going on Eric?"  
"It was only last night!"  
"Oh really? How do I know you aren't lying to me right now? How do I know that this hasn't been going on for months? Years even?"  
"Alan, this is bloody ridiculous, just go back to work-"  
"No Eric, I'm not leaving."  
"Why not?"  
"I'm not leaving until you tell me where you went last night."  
"I'm not telling you!"  
"And why not?"  
"Because you don't need to know. I just went for a walk!"  
"That's bullocks, and you know it."  
"It's the bloody truth!"  
"No it isn't! Why the hell are you lying to me Eric? Why!"  
"Sod off Alan, I don't need this this early in the morning."  
"Fine then. I'll leave. I'll leave right now." Alan slammed the door open and headed for the lift.  
"Where the bloody hell do you think you're going?" Eric asked, moving to follow him. "I'm going to pack my stuff and I'm leaving. I'm not staying with someone who lies right to my face."  
"Alan will you calm down? You're blowing this way out of proportion!"  
"No Eric, I don't think you're taking me seriously enough." He pressed the button for the lift. "I'm not staying with someone who can't tell the truth." He stepped into the lift.  
"What do you mean Alan?"  
"I'm leaving Eric. We're through. I can't be partners with someone like you."  
"Come on Alan, you're my partner."  
"Was, Mr. Slingby. I was your partner." The doors to the lift closed and Alan vanished from sight.  
Eric rushed to catch the doors, but it was too late. He knelt down in front of them, his fists slamming against the doors.  
"God dammit Alan..." He got up and quickly ran for the stairs, traveling down them as fast as his legs would carry him, hoping it wasn't too late.


	3. Chapter 3

Alan was going through his things in Eric's flat. He had his trunk open and was going about the room packing all of his clothes neatly into it. He finished getting his clothes inside before going into the sitting room to get as many of his books as he could manage, just wanting to get out of the flat as quickly as he could.  
As Alan was packing this things, he was thinking. Why would Eric have lied to him? What was so important that Alan couldn't know? Why was he sneaking out? How did everything get to be like this?  
All of these questions were swirling around his head when he heard the door open.  
"No... Not now..." he muttered to himself.  
"Alan! Don't do it!" Eric yelled as he ran up the steps.  
"And why exactly should I stay? I can't even trust you any more."  
"Alan?"  
"What?" Alan crossed his arms over his chest.  
"Don't do this... Please Alan."  
"Give me one good reason why I should stay."  
Eric hesitated.  
"Exactly." Alan went back to the book shelves and picked up a few more books, putting them in his trunk as well.  
"Alan, I love you."  
"Do you Mr. Slingby? Do you really?"  
Eric winced at the formality. Alan's voice was ice cold.  
"Yes, I do. Do you really want to know where I went last night?"  
"It would be nice. I've only been asking all day."  
"I was out in East End, London."  
"Doing what?"  
"I... was with Ronald... Just walking."  
"Would you like to try that again? Perhaps with a slightly less fabricated story?"  
Eric hesitated, choosing his words carefully.  
"I really was in the East End, only... Ronald wasn't there."  
"Yes. And?" Alan tapped his foot impatiently.  
"And... I really was collecting souls..." he finally admitted.  
"But you weren't scheduled for any collections."  
"I know..." He looked down, avoiding Alan's gaze.  
"Eric...? You weren't killing those not on the To Die List, were you?"  
Eric didn't answer. He didn't know if he could.   
But Eric's silence was affirmation enough for Alan.   
"Oh gods, you were, weren't you?"  
Eric gave a curt nod.  
Eric... Why would you do such a thing?"  
"I... I have to Alan! I have to save you!"  
Alan froze. "You what?"  
"I have to save you Alan. I just can't let you die."  
"Eric? What do you mean? Save me from wha- Oh Eric, no!"  
"Alan, it's the only way I know how to save you!"  
"Eric, you can't... You can't! Eric, you can't do this! They'll kill you if they find out!"  
"No one's going to find out."  
"You aren't responsible for this case are you?"  
"No one is going to know it's me."  
The blood in Alan's veins ran cold.  
"Seven hundred and sixty five souls Eric... How could you kill seven hundred and sixty five innocent people?"  
"It's the only way I know how to save you Alan!"  
"It's a myth Eric. There's no proof it even works!"  
"Would it still be a legend if there weren't a lick of truth to it?" Eric asked.   
" But that's just it Eric. It's a legend."  
Eric sighed, having to rebuttal.  
"No more Eric. Please. No more killing for my sake."  
"But Alan-"  
"No! If you keep killing, you're not going to have a reason to for much longer."  
It took a moment to sink in for Eric.  
"Alan, you wouldn't... You can't kill yourself."  
"Promise me you won't keep killing. I can't let you throw away your life like this." Tears were welling in Alan's eyes.  
Eric frowned. He had no other choice. He couldn't let Alan throw his own life away. Not after all of the effort to keep him alive.  
"Fine... I promise. No more killing."  
"Thank you." Alan stepped forward and hugged Eric tightly, burying his face in his chest.  
Eric wrapped his arms tightly around Alan.  
"And no more lies Eric. I can't take any more lies."  
"I promise Alan," he whispered into the smaller man's ear. "I'll only do what makes you happy. I promise."  
"Thank you." Alan stayed in the warm, comforting embrace for a few minutes before pulling away.  
"What are we going to do now Eric?"  
Eric raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"  
"They're going to find out. The Dispatch. Grell barely got away with five. But seven hundred and sixty five? They'll have you executed for sure."  
Eric shook his head. "No one is going to find out."  
"The Elder Council isn't going to let this go lightly. They are going to keep looking for the killer until they find you. William might tip them off."  
"What? Why would Spears tip them off?"  
Alan frowned and looked down. "I talked to him today, remember?"  
Eric sighed. "Right." he thought for a moment, the tension is the air rising with every passing second. "Then there's only one option."  
"And what is that?" Alan asked, his eyes wide with anticipation.  
"We'll have to run away. Far away. At least until this case is done. Now... Now that the killing will stop, we'll just have to hit out for a decade or so. They'll stop looking and we can come back."  
"Eric, you know it wouldn't be safe to come back to London." Alan swallowed hard. "If we run away, we can't come back."  
Alan then frowned. He had never been away from London before, and reaper or not, the prospect of it frightened him a bit.  
"All right. then keep packing your trunk. I'll go pack mine."  
"What?" Alan looked up, confused.  
"Pack your things. We're leaving i the morning."  
"But where would we go?"  
"We'll go back to my old home. It's far enough out of the city that no one should be able to find if if they looked."  
Alan thought for a minute. "Wait, do you mean your home in Scotland?"  
Eric nodded. "I do."  
"I've never been to Scotland before"  
Eric sighed. "I'm so sorry for dragging you into this Alan."  
Alan took Eric's hands in his own and held them tightly. "We're partners Eric. Where you go, I go. Where you stay, I stay."  
"Alan..." Eric wrapped his arms around the smaller man, pulling him into a tight embrace.  
"We're in this together. no matter what happens." Alan rubbed gently at Eric's back.  
"Right... Let's go get our stuff packed. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."  
Alan nodded and pulled away. He went back to putting his books into his trunk, also making sure he had all of his clothes. Eric went to get his trunk from the closet and started messily throwing his own clothing into it.  
"Oh Eric, you're never going to fit everything in like that." Alan took all of the clothes out of the trunk and started folding them neatly. Eric continued bringing his clothes to his trunk, allowing Alan to fold them and put them away.  
After about an hour, all of their essential items had been packed. Their trunks were locked and stacked by the door so that they could leave at a moment's notice.  
Eric was sitting on the edge of he bed, just staring down at the floor. Alan knelt behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.  
"Eric, please don't worry. Think of it as an adventure. It might even be fun."  
Eric sighed. "If this is your idea of fun, then I'm really worried about you."  
"It will be fine Eric. You'll see."  
Eric nodded, however he wasn't thoroughly convinced.   
"Do you have all of your medicines?" Eric asked.  
Alan nodded. "Of course." He didn't want to state the obvious, but with no pharmacy for him to be able to refill them, they were going to run out.  
"We can stop by the pharmacy tomorrow and pick up some more medicine for you. Then we'll take the first train to Scotland. After that..."  
"After that, we can just play it by ear," Alan finished.  
Eric nodded in agreement. "Though it might not be such a good idea to stay so close to England."  
Alan rubbed Eric's back gently, trying to help the other calm down.  
Eric relaxed into the comforting touch.  
"The next few years are going to be rough Alan."  
"I know, but as long as I'm with you, there's nothing I can't handle."  
Eric smiled softly. "Let's get to bed. We have an early start tomorrow."  
Alan nodded and went about the room, getting ready for bed. He climbed under the cover, nuzzling into Eric's side.  
"Good night Eric," he said, giving the other a gentle kiss.  
Eric smiled softly and kissed him back, wrapping his arms around Alan tightly.  
"Good night Alan."  
Within minutes, both reapers were asleep.  
The next morning, there was no alarm to wake them up. The sun was shining through the window, right into Alan's face. He sat up and stretched. He rubbed his eyes before putting his glasses on.  
"Eric?" Alan placed and hand on Eric's shoulder and shook him gently.  
Eric awoke with a groan. "What time is it?" He asked, rubbing at his eyes.   
"It's 7:00. We ought to get moving soon."  
Eric finally sat up and put on his glasses. "Hey Alan?"  
Alan was in the middle of getting dressed. "Yes?"  
"Do you still have your glasses fro when you were a trainee?"   
"Yes, I do. Why do you... Oh." Alan looked down. "We really are running away, aren't we?"  
Alan frowned. When a reaper took of their glasses, the ones they picked out after being fully initiated, it was a symbol of resignation. Once you took of those glasses and left them, you were considered a deserter. You were no longer a reaper.  
"Aye... We'll need to leave our glasses and scythes here."  
"Our scythes? But won't it be dangerous to leave them behind? What if we were to run into a demon?"  
"We'll be fine Alan. We aren't going to need them any way."  
"What do you mean we won't need our scythes?"  
"We're going to hide our souls. We'll look like humans. Basically, we're going to live like humans for a while."  
"Like a human?" Alan asked.  
"Yes... the only thing is... we're going to be more susceptible to human illnesses. We can get sick, or injured. We'll need to be careful."  
Alan nodded. Even as a reaper he was susceptible to diseases. As a human... He didn't want to think about it."  
"All right then."  
"Do you know how to hide your soul, Alan?"  
Alan shook his head. "I don't even remember hearing about it in the Academy."  
"I think they stopped teaching it before you go into the Academy. I think I was one of the last classes they taught it to."  
"How do you do it?" Alan asked, sitting down next to Eric.  
"Well, first, you close your eyes and focus hard on your soul. Then you imagine that you're putting your soul in a box. Somewhere where no one will find it." Eric closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again they were no longer their bright two-toned green. They were now a very dark brown.  
"Eric!" Alan gasped softly. "You're eyes!"  
"They're brown, aren't they?"  
Alan nodded. "You've hidden your soul, haven't you?"  
"Aye. See, it's that easy. When we're like this, no demon or even reaper can sense us. Then again, we won't be able to sense them either."  
Alan frowned.  
"Don't you worry love, we'll be alright."  
Alan took a deep breath and closed his eyes.  
"That's right love. Just relax. Focus only on your soul."  
Alan nodded, his eyes still closed.  
"Now, think about a box. Imagine putting your soul away in that box. Hide that box where only you can find it."  
"After a minute, Alan opened his eyes. Like Eric's, they were no longer their bright two-toned green, but instead, a soft hazel.   
Eric smiled softly. "Good job Alan."  
"I did it?"  
Eric smiled softly. "You're eyes are really beautiful."  
Alan smiled as well and then looked at the clock.  
"We ought to get going. It's getting late."  
Eric nodded. "Before we go, can you promise me something?"  
"What's that?"  
"Please be careful. You're like a human now. You can get hurt and get sick just as easily."  
"i'll be fine Eric. I'm not as fragile as you'd make me out to be."  
"Just be careful."  
"I will be."  
Eric nodded. he got up and started getting dressed. Alan got up as well and went to brush his teeth and comb his hair.  
After twenty minutes, both men were dressed and down stairs.   
"You have your old glasses, right?" Eric had already put on his current glasses on the table and was wearing his old ones. His scythe was in his hand.  
"Do we really need to do this?"  
"If we don't leave our scythes, they're going to come right for us."  
Alan frowned. He gave one last longing look to his own scythe before putting it on the table. he took off his current glasses and set them down on the table as well before putting his old ones on.  
Eric set his scythe down as well.  
"Are you ready Alan?"  
Alan nodded sadly. He went to the door and grabbed his trunk before going out to hair a carriage.  
Eric took three separate pieces of paper and wrote a short letter on each in a quick, messy scrawl. he put each letter in an envelope and wrote a name on each. He sighed heavily before taking a last look at the scythes and glasses on the table. This was the last time he would ever see them.  
He turned and headed for the door and grabbed his trunk. He left the door unlocked, knowing that they would never see the things inside again.  
Eric went outside and put the trunks on top of the carriage before joining Alan inside. He gave the driver directions to the Dispatch's hospital and told him to hurry.  
"So this is really it then?" Alan asked as the carriage started moving.  
"Aye. No more Dispatch or collecting souls."  
"Hm..."  
"Look at it this way. At least Spears can't give you over time any more."  
Alan sighed and simply stared out of the window.   
After a twenty minute ride, they arrived at the hospital. Eric stayed in the carriage as Alan went in to pick up a new prescription. Once he was back in the carriage, they were off to the train station.  
"How long does it take?" Alan asked, watching the buildings and people go by.  
"The ride? To the station?"  
"No, to Scotland. How long does it take?"  
Eric thought for a moment. "We should be there by lunch time tomorrow."  
The rest of the carriage ride was filled with tense silence as they headed for the train station.


	4. Chapter 4

When they arrived at the train station, Eric got out and paid the driver before getting his and Alan's trunks down. He handed Alan's trunk to him before leading him into the station to buy their tickets.  
"Excuse me, ma'am?" He asked. Trying to get the attention of the lady who was sitting behind the counter.  
Oh yes. May I help you sir?"  
"Aye. Could you tel me when the next train to Glasgow leaves?"  
She looks down at the time table and then the clock.  
"Yes, it leave in forty five minutes."  
"Perfect. Could I please get two tickets?"  
"Of course sir. That will be eight pounds."  
Eric hands her the correct amount of money and she hands him the tickets.  
"I hope you have a pleasant trip sir."   
Eric nodded and thanked her before leading Alan into the train. They found their compartment and got settled in.  
"How does it feel?" Alan asked.  
"What? How does what feel?"  
"Going back home. To Scotland. You've not been in ages."  
Eric smiled softly. "It feels great to be honest. I really miss it. I think you'll like it Alan. It's nothing like England."  
Alan smiled softly, happy that the other was relaxing slightly. He'd been so tense since the previous night. He was glad to see a genuine smile on Eric's face, no matter how small.  
Alan put his trunk in the small closet and then laid back on the bed. It wasn't as comfortable as the one back in their flat, but it was better than nothing.  
"The bed is a bit small. We might be a bit cramped sleeping together. I could sleep on the floor if you'l like," Eric offered.  
Alan shook his head. "That won't be necessary. I don't take up that much room."  
"If you're sure." Eric went about the compartment, settling in a bit. He opened up the curtain so they could watch the passing scenery and unpacked their clothes for the next day, hanging them up so they wouldn't get wrinkled. He also got out a small bag for their previous clothes to make carrying them in the morning a bit easier.  
Eric looked down at his watch. The train wouldn't leave for another few minutes. He sat down on the bed next to Alan.  
"You know, I've never been on a train before," Alan said.  
"Really? Eric asked, his eyes wide with surprise. "Never?"  
"Never. I've never had a reason to."  
"Looks like these next few weeks are going to be full of firsts for you then."  
"Seems like it."  
Eric leaned over and kissed Alan gently on the lips.  
There was a knock at the door. Eric groaned quietly, but got up to answer it.  
"Hello sir, I'm here to check your tickets."  
Eric pulled out his and Alan's tickets and handed them to the man.  
The man took the tickets and looked at both of them for a minute before writing something on a clip board and handing them back.  
"Thank you sir. Oh, and sir?"  
Eric mentally rolled his eyes. He had just been about to close the door. "Aye? Can I help you?"  
"If you're going to be up to... such activities, please make sure to close the curtain on your door."  
"I'll keep that in mind." Eric closed the door and made sure that said curtain was closed.  
"Who was that?" Alan asked, sitting up.  
"Just the bloke check the tickets. That's all." He sat down on the bed again.  
Alan nodded.  
"We'll need to be more careful. Human's aren't as understanding or accepting as reapers..."  
Alan thought for minute. "Ah I see."  
Eric nodded. "Do you want to go check out the dining cart? You haven't had breakfast yet."  
Alan smiled softly. "Eating does sound good right about now."  
Eric stood up and helped Alan up. Right before they starting walking, the train lurched forward, starting on its way to Scotland. Eric, having travel by train a few times was unfazed, however, Alan toppled over onto the bed, having lost his footing.  
"You alright Alan?" Eric asked, helping Alan back to his feet.  
"Yes, I just lost my balance is all." He stood up, smoothing the wrinkles out of his clothes."  
"Alright then. Let's go get something to eat." Eric led Alan through the train until they arrived at the dining cart. Not too many people were here, having already eaten breakfast before they left.  
Alan and Eric took a seat at an empty booth an started looking over the menus.  
Eric smirked playfully and tapped Alan's foot with his own. Alan brushed it off as an accident until it happened again.  
"May I help you?" He asked, eyes not leaving the menu.  
"No," Eric replied with a coy smirk.  
"Playing footsies, are we?" Alan asked, tapping Eric's foot back with his own.  
Eric repeated the gesture.  
"I swear, sometimes you really are a child." Alan laughed softly and went back to the menu.  
After a few minutes, the waiter came by.  
"May I take your orders, sirs?"  
"Yes, might I have some orange juice and scrambled eggs please?"  
"Yes, of course." The waiter wrote down the order. "And for you sir?" He asked, turning to Eric.  
"I'll have some milk with oatmeal and raisins."  
The waiter took down his order and repeated it to make sure there were no mistakes. He took their order to the kitchen and brought them back their drinks.  
"So. What exactly do you find so fascinating about oatmeal?" Alan asked.  
"What are you talking about? Oat meal is delicious!" Eric exclaimed.  
Alan made a face.  
"What's with the face?" Eric asked with a frown.  
"I find oatmeal to be quite repulsive," Alan said, twirling his straw around in his juice.  
"Suit yourself." Eric shrugged and sipped at his milk.  
After a few minutes, the waiter came back with their food and set it down in front of them before going back to the kitchen.  
Alan winced when Eric started eating.  
"What?" Eric asked, slightly exasperated.   
"How do you eat that?" He frowned, cover his mouth.  
"Easy. Like this." Eric took a large spoonful of oatmeal and ate it happily.  
Alan turned away. "that's disgusting..." He looked out of the window until his stomach settled down.   
"Alan, it's not that bad."  
"If you say so." Alan started eating at his own eggs.   
They ate in mostly silence, chatting about small things every so often. When they were finished eating, they walked about the train for about an hour before returning to their compartment. Eric made sure that the curtain stayed closed, just in case.  
Alan went over to his trunk and pulled out a book he was reading.  
"What are you reading love?" Eric asked.  
"Just a book," Alan said, flipping open to his page. He curled up on the bed and started reading.   
Eric smiled softly and pulled Alan closer to him, allowing Alan to lay his head on Eric's chest. Eric was running his fingers through Alan's hair as the smaller man relaxed into him. They stayed like this for a while until Eric started to grow bored. By now, Eric was trying to see how much different ways he could make Alan's hair stand up. Alan was oblivious to all of this, being far too absorbed in his book.   
After another fifteen minutes passed like this. Alan finally finished his book. He closed it, setting it down on the bed and rubbed at his eyes.  
"How was your book?" Eric asked, placing a gentle kiss to Alan's forehead.  
"Very good. Though personally, I would have used a different ending. It doesn't feel as though it really ended."  
"Maybe they'll come out with a sequel."  
"That would be nice. I'm afraid to say I'm starting to grow a bit attached to the characters."  
"It's just a book Alan. They aren't even real."  
"I know, but they're just so easy to get attached to. And their stories are so interesting. It's hard to put the book down."  
"I can tell." Eric chuckled softly. "I don't think you looked away once. Did you even blink?"  
"Of course I blinked." Alan rolled his eyes playfully then looked down at his watch. "Hm... It's getting late. Would you like to go get dinner?"  
Eric smirked. "You might want to comb your hair first."  
"My hair? What?" Alan reached up and felt hit hair which was still sticking up in random directions.  
"Eric!" He hit the other lightly on the arms and then got up to comb his hair into place.  
"What? I got bored."  
"Well it seems as though you found a way to entertain yourself." Alan finished fixing his hair and put his comb away. "There. Now, are you ready for dinner?"  
Eric got up and smoothed some of the larger wrinkles out of his clothes.  
"Aye. Let's go. I'm starving." Eric led the way to the dinning cart and they sat down in an empty booth. Alan ordered a salad and some bread sticks while Eric ordered spaghetti.   
"Are you sure that's all you want Alan?" Eric asked, a bit concerned.  
"Yes, I'm sure. I'm honestly not that hungry. "He had finished about half of his salad and was now just picking at his food.  
"If you say so."  
When Eric had finished eating, he pushed his plate away and wiped at his mouth.  
"You ready to head back?" He asked, standing up.  
Alan stood as well. "Do you think we could walk around a bit more? You know I'm not very fond of being confined to a singular room for long."  
"Of course." Eric smiled softly. "Let's go."  
They walked around the train for about an hour, just wandering about. After that hour, they finally made their way back to their compartment. Eric closed the door, making sure that the curtain was closed.   
"It's getting late," he said, glancing down at his watch.  
Alan looked out the window. "Wow." His eyes were wide with admiration. "I don't think I've ever seen so many stars at once before."  
"It is pretty hard to see them in the city, isn't it? But where we're going, you can look at the starts every night if you want to."  
"Really?" Alan turned around. "And just where exactly are we going?"  
"Don't you worry. You'll see." Eric starting dressing for bed. "But we really ought to get to bed. We have a bit of a hike ahead of us tomorrow."  
Alan frowned and got ready for bed.  
"Don't worry Alan. We'll be fine." Eric climbed into bed, making sure to leave enough room for Alan.   
Alan climbed into bed as well, nuzzling far into Eric, not wanting to fall out of the bed.  
"Good night Alan." Eric kissed the top of the other man's head softly.  
"Good night Eric." Alan nuzzled even further into Eric, closing his eyes.  
Eric rubbed at the other's back until the had both fallen asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advanced for any anachronisms.

The next morning the sun shone brightly into their compartment. Alan groaned softly as it shone through his eyelids. The sun seemed to be so much brighter here.  
"Eric..." He turned over, trying to hide his face from the light.  
"Hm...?" Eric woke up, rubbing at his eyes.  
"The sun is so bright..." Alan buried his face into Eric's chest.  
"What..?" Eric sat up, stretching. He looked out of the window, seeing the green hills and the bright sunlight bouncing off of them. Eric smiled brightly.  
"Welcome to Scotland, Alan." Eric got out of bed and started getting dressed. There was a bit of an extra bounce in his step.  
"Someone's a bit excited this morning."  
"I can't help it Alan. It's been ages since I've been home." Eric finished getting dressed and quickly combed his hair. He got all of their things together and put everything in the two trunks so that they would have less to carry.  
"You ready to go, Alan?" Eric was completely dressed and had his trunk by the door.  
"Yes, I'm ready. But when did the train stop?" Alan looked around a bit confused. He didn't realized the the train wasn't moving when he woke up.  
"Must have stopped while we were sleeping. Come on, let me show you around!" Eric led Alan out of he train and found his way out of the station.  
"Will you wait a minute?" Alan called out, starting to become out of breath. "My legs aren't as long as yours.   
Eric stopped and waited for Alan to catch up.  
"You all right?" Eric asked.   
Alan nodded, catching up with the other. "Just remember that I'm not as tall as you. My legs aren't as long, alright?"  
Eric laughed softly. "Alright, I will." He started walking again, but this time, keeping a slower pace to allow Alan to keep up.  
"It's been so long since I've been to Glasgow." Eric was looked around the city as they walked.  
Alan smiled softly as he looked around as well. The city seemed so different than London. People were milling about, just like in London, however, no one seemed to be rushing. In London, everyone was always late for something. However here, everyone seemed like they had all of the time in the world. Everyone seemed so happy. the sun almost seemed to shine brighter here.  
"It's so beautiful here."  
Eric smiled softly. "Come on Alan. We need to go get some food."  
Eric led Alan over to the market, buying enough food to last the two for a week.  
"Eric, where exactly are we going?" Alan wasn't exactly comfortable not knowing where he was going.  
"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet." Eric smiled happily as he led Alan out of the city limits. The cobble stone street slowly turning into a dirt path.  
"Eric? Are you taking me to your old house?"  
"Aye. That I am." His smile grew wider as the houses grew further and further apart. Soon, there were none in sight.  
"You really lived way out here?"  
"Aye. You can't raise sheep in the city, now can you?"  
"No, I suppose not."  
"Did you want to stop for a few minutes? The rest of the walk is pretty steep."  
Alan looked up at the hill they had yet to climb.  
"Yes. Just for a minute." He pulled his trunk to the side of the road and sat down heavily on it."  
"You look tired Alan." Eric said as he join him. "Did you want me to carry your trunk?"  
"It's alright. I've got it."  
"Well, the good news is that I live just over that hill. It's not much farther now."  
Alan stood up once he had caught his breath. "All right. Let's go." He held his trunk firmly and started making his way up the hill. Eric picked up his trunk and followed Alan up the hill. After another thirty minutes, they reached the top of the hill.  
"Is that your house?" Alan asked.  
"Aye." Eric started walking quickly down the hill.  
There was a small house that sat near the woods with a small creek running by it. A short distance away, there was an apple tree, still bearing fruit.  
The house itself wasn't much to look at. It had been uninhabited for year. The windows were boarded shut. The paint was peeling off of the walls. They both were nearly running down the hill, their trunks in tow.  
When they reached the front porch, Eric bent down and moved the rug. He picked up the key that was lying there.  
"It's still here."  
He ripped off the boards from the door and unlocked the door, pushing it open.  
"Eric, are you sure this is alright?"  
"Alan, this is my house." He walked inside, taking his trunk with him.  
"I know, but Eric. You've been dead for years. If anyone-"  
"No one is going to see us. No one lives out here anymore." He went around the kitchen and sitting room, opening up all of the windows after taking the boards off of them.  
"Eric, are you really sure this is alright?" This feels like trespassing." He walked into the house, dragging his trunk in and leaving it next to Eric's."  
"Alan, it's fine. It's my house. I grew up here. It's fine."  
Alan sighed and went around the house.  
"It feels so good to be home." Eric open up some of the curtains to let in some of that light.  
"We'll have to do a bit of cleaning up if we're going to stay here," Alan said.  
"Aye. And we'll have to get some water from the creek."  
Alan looked over at him confused.  
"I was born before running water, remember?"  
"And before electricity, right?"  
Eric nodded and chuckled softly. "That too. Can't help that I'm an old man."  
"A dashing one at that." Alan smiled softly and started going around the room, dusting off the shelves and counters, and finally the table.   
"I'm going to head upstairs and fix up my bed. We need some place to sleep tonight."  
Eric went upstairs, straight to his room. He opened the door.  
The room was small with his bed tucked into the corner. There was a small closet in the wall, Eric went over to the small desk and book shelf and wiped the dust off. He looked down at this bed and left a small pang in his chest. He loved Alan. He knew he loved Alan. But he missed Shannon. Shannon was his wife before he had died. They already had a son and she was heavily pregnant with his second child. A second child he never got a chance to meet. He sat down on the edge of the bed. He missed being a father. He missed his family.  
He stayed on the bed for a few minutes before taking off the sheet. He folded them neatly and put them in closet and took out new sheets and made the bed. He took the boards off of the windows and opened to allow in some light and fresh air.  
Once the bed was properly made he returned downstairs to join Alan.  
"Are you alright Eric? You're covered with dust."  
"Aye, I'm fine." Eric started brushing the dust off of himself. He took off his jacket and placed it on the back of one of the chairs.  
Alan had finished cleaning up the kitchen and sitting room. he took the tarp off of the couch int he sitting room and it was now folded up and sitting in the corner. He had gone outside and gotten some water to wash off the dishes. the food had been put away in the pantry and now Alan was currently making some tea.  
"Seems like you've settled in already."  
"There's never anything wrong with a cup of tea." He finished preparing his tea and went to sit on the couch. Eric went and joined him.  
"So this is really where you grew up?"  
"Aye. It feels great to be back."  
"It seems nice. Unable to hear the clamor of the streets everyday. Able to run around to your heart's content."  
"Well... Not really..."  
Alan looked over at the other, confused. What do you mean not really?"  
"I had asthma growing up. I couldn't exactly do much running."  
"Well you could still go outside and play."  
"And watch the sheep." Eric smiled softly. "Can't forget that."  
"Yes," Alan agreed. "And watch the sheep."  
Alan started sipping at his tea and looked around the room. There was a low coffee table in the middle that was next to the couch the were currently sitting on. A small fire place and mantel covered one of the walls, while another had a window and a small clock.  
"I never thought I would get to come back."  
Alan smiled softly. "I'm glad you could."  
Eric stood up and walked about the room. He looked out of the window, seeing the apple tree off in the distance. he looked at some of the painting on the wall.  
"Did you never have a family portrait done?" Alan asked, as he waked up behind Eric.  
"No... Too expensive. This was before all your fancy film technology. I don't think I would have been able to sit still that long any way. Man or child."  
"I know you have a hard enough time sitting still as it is."  
Eric chuckled softly. "Come on. We ought to get started on dinner."  
Alan rinsed out his now empty tea cup. "What will we be having?"  
"Nothing special. Just some vegetables. Transporting meat would be a bit too difficult."  
"That's alright. Vegetables sound wonderful."  
"Great. Then you go get the post set up and pick out what you want to eat." Eric picked up the bucket that was sitting next to the door. "I'll go fetch some water."  
Eric went out to the creek to fetch some water. While he was out there, he washed his hands and face. The cool water made a nice contrast against the summer's heat.  
While Eric was outside, Alan got out some pots and some vegetables. He found some utensils and cleaned them off before laying them out for Eric to use. Alan wasn't proficient with a knife and he wasn't about to slice off a finger.  
Eric returned a few minutes later with a full bucket of water.  
"I'm back," he said, setting the bucket down on the counter.  
"Are you sure it's safe to drink that?"  
"Alan, I drank from that creek my entire life."  
Alan didn't look too convinced.  
"You made tea, didn't you?" Eric asked.  
"Yes, well, I had to boil it first."  
"Fair enough." Eric went to the stove and filled it with wood before starting a fire. he got out a large pot and waited for it to boil As the water was heating up, he started slicing and cleaning the vegetables.  
"When did you get to be so good at cooking?" Alan asked.  
"Well, my wife couldn't cook to save her life and my mother was having a harder time getting around as she got older."  
"So you learned from your mother?"  
"Aye. I wanted to keep her and Shannon happy, so I learned how to cook. Turns out I was pretty good at it."  
Eric finished preparing their meal as Alan set the table. Alan rummaged through the cabinets and found a bottle of wine.  
"What's that?" Eric asked, peering over with interest.  
"A bottle of wine. From 1608?"  
"Ah, I remember that. I can't remember how I got it, but I remember it being my prized possession. Well besides my whiskey of course. I was saving it for something special."  
Alan put it back. "I'm sure it would have tasted amazing. It's a shame you never got to try it."  
"What are you doing that for?" Eric asked.  
"What do you mean?"  
Eric crouched down next to Alan and took the bottle back out. He popped the cork out and sniffed the contents of the bottle.  
"Eric?" Alan stood up.  
"Tonight is a special occasion, isn't it?"  
Alan smiled softly. "I suppose so." He got out two glasses and placed them on the table.  
Eric filled each glass with a bit of wine and set the bottle on the table.  
Alan sat down in his seat and inhaled softly. "It smells wonderful."  
"Eh... I've done better." Eric picked up his glass and swirled its contents for a moment before taking a sip.  
Alan did the same.  
"Wow. I can honestly say it was well worth the wait." Eric smiled.   
"I'm glad you think so."  
They ate their meal in mostly silence. Once they were done, they washed the dishes and handed up stairs.  
"It looks like someone's had plumbing installed up here. You you think it works?" Alan called from the water closet.  
"I don't know. Why don't you try it out?"  
Alan turned on the tap for the sink. The water came out slow at first, an then started flowing. It was a bit muddy as it first came out so Alan let it run before deeming it clean enough to use. He brushed his teeth quickly and went back into Eric's bed room.  
"So this is where you slept?" Alan asked, taking in the room.  
"Aye." he was looking at the things on his dresser. He picked up the hair brush that was lying there. It still had a few strands of curly dark brown hair.  
"They never got rid of it. It looks the same as when I left."  
"Is it really alright for us to sleep in here?"  
"Alan. For the last time, it's my house. And my house. And my room at that. What I say goes."  
"Only if yo're sure." Alan sat down on the edge of the bed and gave a little bounce. "I can imagine you falling off of this many times as a child."  
"And my mum was never too happy with me when I did. But no matter what, she'd always hold me tight and tell me it would be okay. She would let me sit in her lap until I felt better."  
"Is that why you're so cuddly now?" Alan smirked softly and hugged Eric tightly from behind."  
"I suppose you could sat that." He took one of Alan's hands and kissed it gently.   
"Now let's get some sleep. I don't know about you, but all of that walking tired me out."  
"You? Who's so used to walking around every where?" Alan chuckled softly.  
"It's been a while. Besides. I'm not used to the county air anymore." Eric went to go lay down in the ed.  
Alan followed suit, laying down next to Eric's and curling up into his side.  
"Good night Alan."  
Alan smiled softly and kissed Eric's cheek. "Night Eric."  
Within minutes, both men were sound asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Earlier that morning in the Dispatch, things were going normally. Well, somewhat normally.  
Around 8:30, there was a knock on William's door. he sighed heavily, being in the middle of a report.  
"Yes, come in."  
The door opened and Grell walked inside, closing the door behind him.  
"Good morning, my darling Will."  
Will adjusted his glasses. "I am not your darling. Now, as you can see, I am quite busy. Might I help you with something?"  
"Actually yes. I'm worried about Eric and Alan."  
"And why is that?"  
"They haven't shown up for work yet. It's not like Alan to be late for a shift." Grell walked closer and sat on the edge of Will's desk.  
"Honestly, it is no uncommon for Mr. Humphries and Mr. Slingby to have a late morning." Will cringed mentally at the reason why.  
"Yes, but you can't tell you didn't hear their argument yesterday. The whole floor knows."  
"Be that as it may, their punctuality, or lack there of is no concern of yours. Now, return to your office Mr. Sutcliff."  
Grell sighed. "It's Miss Sutcliff darling.  
"Get back to work."  
"My my, a bit extra cold this morning, are we?" Grell smirked and wiggled his hips.  
Will sighed and turned his chair so that his back was facing Grell and went back to the report he was working on. He didn't plan on working over time tonight.  
There was a heavy sigh and the sound of a door closing as Grell left the office.   
About three hourse later, there was another knock at the door.  
"It is open."  
The door opened and Ronald popped his head in. "Hey Senpai, you got a minute?"  
"How may I help you?" At least Ronald had the courtesy to ask if he was busy.   
"Do you know where Eric senpai is? I've got something to give him and I can't find him any where."  
"Has he still not arrived then?"  
Ronald looked confused. "He didn't show up to work?"  
"According to Mr. Sutcliff, no. And neither has Mr. Humphries."  
"Do you think they didn't come in because of their fight yesterday?" Ronald asked. He was growing worried with the whereabouts of his friends.  
"I do not know. However, due to their absence, I do know that you, myself, and Mr. Sutcliff will all be forced to work overtime tonight."  
"Oh come one Boss, I was going to go check on Eric and Alan after work!" Ronald complained, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.  
"If it makes you feel better, then all of us may go check on Mr. Humphries and Mr. Slingby. That way if something did happen to them, we would easily be able to sort them out."  
"Something happen? What do you mean by that?"  
"You are dismissed now Mr. Knox. Please distribute Mr. Humphries and Mr. Slingby's work between your self and Mr. Sutcliff."  
"But Boss, what do you mean by-"  
"You are dismissed Mr. Knox."  
Ronald frowned but left. He wasn't trying to get on William's bad side.   
He left Will's office and went to Eric's to pick up the papers in his inbox to deliver to Grell. He knocked on the door with his foot. "Senpai, could you get the door for me?"  
Grell got up from his chair and opened the door.  
"Ronald? What are you doing here?"  
"The Boss wanted me to drop off some work for you."  
Grell started going through the papers Ronald's arms. "But these all have Eric's name on them."  
Ronald frowned and looked down.  
"Still no sign of them then?" Grell asked.  
"Nope. Not a trace."  
Grell frowned and took the papers from Ronald. "We need to go check on the and make sure they're all right."  
Ronald shook his head. "The Boss isn't going to let us leave until we finish all of this work."  
Grell groaned loudly. "But that could take ages..."  
"Well, he also wants to come with us. He says in case something's happened. What do you think he meant by that?"  
"Well, let's just hope he doesn't think a demon attacked them."  
"What?" Ronald's eyes grew wide with surprise. "But they're strong! And there's two of them. You don't think that really happened, do you?"  
Grell just sat down and started working. "I would hope no, but the only way to know for sure is to go and check for ourselves. And the only way to do that is to finish all of this work."  
"I suppose so." Ronald left Grell's ofice and picked up the paper work in Alan's office and brought it to how own office to start working on it. They finished their work well after the end of their shift.  
Will sat up and rubbed at his eyes. Finally finishing the last of the paperwork for the day. he looked at the small clock he kept on the wall. It was nearly 9:00.  
"Three hours of unpaid overtime. Honestly..." He adjusted his glasses and stood up. He got all of his things together and walked over to Grell's office and knocked on the door. There was no reply.  
"Mr. Sutcliff? Are you there?" He twisted the knob and opened the door. Inside, Grell was face down on his desk, fast asleep. Ronald was sprawled out on the small sofa that was in there, quite asleep as well.  
"Honestly, you two. This is not the time to be sleeping. Wake up." Will put out his scythe and proceeded in hitting each reaper in the head.  
"Ow!" Ronald frowned and rolled over, nearly rolling off of the sofa.  
"Ow! Will!" Grell immediately sat up and rubbed at his head. "What was that for?"  
Will put his scythe away. "We need to get moving. I do not plan on staying out all night."  
Ronald sat up and stretched. "I'm up Boss. We were just waiting for you to finish working."  
"Well, now I have finished. Let us get moving."  
Ronald quickly got off of the couch and headed to the lift with Grell in tow. Will followed closely behind , getting into the lift with them. It was a silent ride on the way down to the ground floor.  
Once the lift stopped, all three poured out of the lift and immediately went to hail a carriage. Once they were inside, William gave the driver directions to Eric and Alan's flat, and they were on their way.  
"Hey Grell senpai?"  
"Yes Ronald?" Grell had his nail file out and was using it to fix his nails, trying to keep calm.  
"What if Alan senpai just had another attack and Eric senpai just stayed home to take care of him?"  
"This is a possibility, but Eric always calls in when that happens. It isn't like them to not show up and not say anything." Grell looked out of the window and watched the buildings pass by.   
About fifteen minutes later, they arrive at Eric and Alan's building. Grell and Ronald jump out of the carriage while Will stayed behind to pay the driver. He paid and quickly followed Ronald and Grell up.  
Grell was already pounding on the door.  
"Eric! Alan! This isn't funny. Open the door!"  
"Not so loud Sutcliff. You're going to wake someone."  
"But Will, they aren't answering." Grell's voice was full of concern.  
Will knocked on the door. "Mr. Humphries? Mr. Slingby? Is everything alright?" He pressed his ear to the door, but wasn't able tot hear anything. He put his hand on the door knob and twisted it. the door easily glided open.  
Grell and Ronald looked at each other nervously.  
"It was open?" Ronald asked.  
"I don't have a good feeling about this Will."  
Will pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Let's split up."  
Grell and Ronald nodded and all three started searching the apartment, but there was no sign of Eric or Alan anywhere.  
"Um... Will?" Grell's voice came timidly from the kitchen.  
Will quickly joined him.  
"Grell? What is the- Oh no..."  
Will froze in his tracks. one the kitchen table lay Eric and Alan's official glasses. their scythes were lying right behind them.  
"Will, you don't think the really...?" Grell's voice trailed off.  
Will sighed. "Yes... They've resigned."  
Ronald came rushing into the kitchen. "Hey what's going..." His voice died away too.  
"No... Why would they run away?" Ronald sounded on the verge of tears.   
Grell went over and hugged him tightly.  
Will walked closer to the table and picked up something. He handed the other an envelope each.  
"Will? What's this?" Grell asked, taking the envelope. He opened it and inside was a letter written in a messy scrawl.  
Dear Red,  
I know you're probably going to hate me for this, and you have every right to. I'm really sorry it came down to this. If you're reading this, it means Alan and I have run away. Please don't come looking for us. We'd rather not be found. I know I never really got a chance to say a proper goodbye, but I can try now to make up for it, can't I? If you go into the closet in my room, there should be a red box on the floor with your name on it. Inside is a red dress. The one you've had your eyes on for a few months. I want you to have it. Think of it as a goodbye present. I was going to give it too you earlier, but I never really got the chance.  
I'm really going to miss you Red. Even all of the times when you irritated the hell out of me. It was really seeing you around everyday. Hope things don't get too quietly with out me around.  
Yours Truly,  
Eric  
Grell was silent as he went into Eric's room. He looked in the closet on the floor, and just like the letter said, there was a red box with his nae on it. Grell knelt down and opened the box. Just like the letter said, laying inside the box was the red dress.  
"That idiot..." He wiped at the tears that were threatening to overflow. He put the lid back on the box and brought the box back to the kitchen with the others.  
"Hey Senpai. What's that?" Ronald asked, looking at the box with interest.  
Grell opened the box to let him see.  
"Woah! Where'd you find that?"  
Grell frowned. "In the closet. He bought it for me."  
Ronald's eyes widen. "No..." He immediately opened his own letter. Eric's messy handwriting was scrawled across this page as well.  
Dear Ronald,  
If you're reading this letter, it means Alan and I have run away. Even though I'm gone now, and I'm probably not going to see you again, I want you to know that you're still my best mate. And it's not your fault that I'm leaving. It's mine. Only mine. I'm really going to miss seeing you around. You've got a bright smile and personality cheerful enough to lift up the entire Dispatch. Especially when we got overtime together.   
But now that I'm gone, it looks like you're going to have to find a new drinking buddy. Try taking Spears out for a round or two. He could use it. Speaking of drinks, you know where my liquor cabinet is, right? Everything in there is now yours. In fact, the whole flat is. You can do what you want with it. I want you to have it.   
I really wish that things hadn't turned out like this, but they say that every that happens, happens for a reason, right? Anyways, I'm really going to miss you Ron.  
Your Best Mate,  
Eric  
The signature was slightly smudged by tears. Whether they were Eric's or Ronald's, Ronald wasn't sure.  
"That git... That bloody bastard!" Ronald's fist slammed down on the table.  
"Ronald?" Grell placed a hand on his shoulder.  
"He left and didn't tell us! He didn't say a bloody word!"  
"Ronald, please clam down." Grell hugged the younger reaper tightly, just holding him close.  
Ronald hugged him back and tried to keep himself together.  
Will looked down at his letter and sighed. He opened it up and started to decipher it.  
Dear Spears,  
Even with how close we've gotten, we still aren't on a first basis are we? I can already see you in my flat, shaking your head and muttering honestly under your breath as I'm writing this.   
I thought writing Ronald's letter was tough, but this is even harder. Even though it didn't really show, we were pretty good mates. Well, still are. I really am going to miss you Spears. I just wish I could stay and help you. I know you've had it pretty rough and it still gets to you. If it helps you could pretend you're talking to me. I know it isn't the same, but at least it's something right?  
And please, so I'm not constantly worrying about you, please take care of yourself. I know your back has been bothering you lately. No one else may have noticed, but I know. I know you don't want to go see a doctor, but with me not around any more to help, that might be your only option. I know you don't want it to get worse, so just take care of it before it gets too bad. And try not to stress over work too much. I know it's going to be rough till you can replace me and Alan, but you can do it. Ask Ronnie and Sutcliff for help. They'll do it. Trust me. And speaking of taking care of yourself, remember that piano that you said you were saving up for? i leave enough money in the envelope for you to go buy it. Think of it as a good bye present. And if not, think of it as a treat to yourself. You always get so animated when you talk about music. I think that piano will help you relax. And make sure you go buy that nice one. I'm sure you'll sound great.  
Your Mate,  
Eric Slingby  
P.S. Go easy on Ronald and Grell. I know this isn't going to be easy on them.  
Will held the letter tightly. He felt a pant in his chest. Eric was really gone. In the office, Will tried to remain as professional as possible, not letting his personal relationships come into the work place, or not letting his emotions get in the way of his work. But even he had days when he had trouble keeping it together. No matter now distant he may have been, Eric always saw right through him. At the end of Will's shift, right before he would leave for the day, Eric would come into this office with a large bottle of Vodka. He set the bottle down on Will's desk and closed the door. he'd pull out two glasses and fill each with a generous amount of alcohol and hand one to Will. The first time that this happened, Will was outraged. Drinking in the office? What an outrageous notion. However, Eric insisted, and Will finally relented. Eric would make Will drink until he would start talking. Will would tell him everything and anything on his mind. Anything that had been bothering him from his reaper and his human life. Then Eric would take him home and stay with him for the night to make sure he was alright. Will didn't know where he would be without those nights.  
"Will?" Grell placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright? You look like you're about to cry."  
Will looked into the envelope, and sure enough, there were a few hundred pounds sitting in the bottom.  
"He didn't..." Will folded the letter and put it back in the envelope.  
"Will?" Grell frowned. "Are you all right?"  
Will didn't answer. Only Eric knew that he could play the piano. He had been saving to buy his own for years now.  
"We need to go after them." Will cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. "We are already understaffed as it is, I refuse to lose two perfectly capable employees."  
"But Boss...Eric senpai said he didn't want to be found," Ronald said.  
"We are going to look or him Mr. Knox. We will find them."  
"But Will. They've been gone for hours! They could be anywhere by now." Grell sighed and leaned against the wall. He wanted to go find Eric and Alan just as much as Will and Ronald did, but he wasn't about to go on a wild goose chase for them.  
"We don't even know where they went Boss. How are we supposed to find them? I mean, they could be right under our noses and we'd never know," Ronald said.  
"I believe I know where they went. We need to hurry to the train. We just need to hope we aren't too late." Will was already heading for the door.  
"Will, wait a minute!" Grell quickly followed him. "Where do you think you're going?"  
"We need to get to the train station." Will was trying to hair a carriage.  
"The train station? Are we going somewhere Boss?" Ronald asked, following Grell out of the house, closing the door behind him.  
Will was climbing into the carriage and giving the driver directions to the train station.  
Grell and Ronald climbed into the carriage and closed the door.  
"William, what are you doing on about? Where are we going?" Grell asked.  
Will's foot was tapping nervously on the floor of the carriage. "I know we have no clothes with us, but we should be back by tomorrow.  
"Will?" Grell was frowning deeply. "What's going on?"  
Will looked up. "We're going to Scotland."  
Ronald looked up, eyes wide. "Scotland? What are we going to Scotland for?"  
"To retrieve Mr. Humphries and Mr. Slingby."  
"William, wait a minute. We can't just leave in the middle of the night! Let's wait until after work tomorrow. We can pack something. I refuse to ravel without my make up."  
Will sighed and gave he driver directions to his own flat.   
"Will, are you sure you're alright darling? It isn't like you to act so rashly." Grell asked, placing a hand on Will's knee. Will ran his fingers through his hair. "I am simply thinking of the Dispatch. We are horribly understaffed as it is."  
The carriage stopped in front of William's flat. Will and Grell got out.  
"Will you be able to return home on your own Mr. Knox?"  
Ronald nodded. "I'm not a kid, Boss. I'll be fine."  
Will closed the door and paid the driver enough to also take Ronald home.  
Grell said his good nights and walked across the street to his own flat to retire for the night.  
Will went into his flat and hung up his coat. He took a bath, trying to relax. He put on his pajamas and climbed into bed. He lay awake in his bed for hours, trying to fall asleep. It was very late before he finally fell into a fitful sleep that night.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, the sun shined softly through the window to where Eric and Alan were sleeping. Alan rubbed at his eyes. He was comfortable and had no plans on moving anytime soon. Eric was still asleep next to him, his face buried in the crook of Alan's neck.  
Alan stretched out his back, trying not to move around too much so he wouldn't wake up Eric.  
"Alan..." Eric mumbled in his sleep.  
Alan froze. "Eric?" He whispered. "Are you awake?"  
"Alan..." Eric shifted in his sleep and pulled Alan closer. His arms tightened around Alan waist.  
"Eric... Not so tight." Alan squirmed, trying to wiggle his away out of Eric's grasp.  
"Alan...?"  
"Are you awake now?"  
"I think so." Eric yawned and let got of Alan to stretch.  
"Seeing as you're answering me, I'm going to take that as a yes."  
Eric sat up and rubbed at his eyes before leaning heavily against Alan.  
"Ack! Eric, get off!"  
"But I love you Alan." He nuzzled into Alan's neck and kissed it softly.  
"Mmh... Be that as it may, you're heavy. You're nearly a foot taller."  
Eric pulled Alan into his lap and continued kissing his neck.  
"Eric... What are you doing?"  
"You keep telling me that my testosterone is higher in the morning."  
Alan sighed and gasped softly when Eric bucked his hips into his own.  
"Yes... Goodness. I swear a good shag is all you ever have in mind."  
Eric smirked. "It's not all I have in mind." He held Alan close.  
Alan nuzzled into him and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, Alan's stomach growled.  
Eric chuckled softly. "We ought to start making breakfast."  
Alan nodded. "I am growing a bit peckish." He got out of bed and stretched. Eric got up and put on his glasses and went down stairs to start fixing breakfast.  
Alan put on his glasses and went to the water closet to brush his teeth and washed his face. He went back to the bed room and combed his hair before making his way down stairs.  
Eric had already set the table and set out some cranberry juice. he was working on fixing some eggs and toast.  
"Are scrambled eggs fine with you Alan?" Eric asked as he flipped over the toast to ensure that it wouldn't burn.  
"Of course." Alan sat down at the table and started sipping at the juice.  
Eric continued making breakfast until everything was ready. He fixed tow plates and put one down in front of Alan.  
"Hm...? Oh, thank you." Alan had dozed off while he was waiting.  
"You alright love? Did you sleep well last night?" Eric sat down across the table.  
"Oh yes, of course. It's just been a while since I've woken up with out coffee."  
"I knew I forgot something." Eric frowned, looking away.  
"Eric, don't worry about it. I'll get used to it."  
"If you're sure." He started eating his food.  
Alan started eating as well, savoring the taste of Eric's cooking. It might have been simple, but it was still delicious.  
"So, do you have any plans for this morning?" Alan asked, breaking the sleepy silence.  
Eric thought for a moment. "I was thinking that maybe we could go out to the apple tree and go pick some apples. Thenn for lunch we ca have fresh apple juice."  
Alan smiled softly. "That actually sounds quite nice."  
Eric was getting up to start washing the dishes when there was and knock at the door.  
Eric and Alan both froze.  
Eric looked over to the door. "Who the hell is that?" He whispered.  
Alan shrugged. He was sure that no one was around when the entered the house. Were the reapers already after them?  
The kncok sounded again.  
Alan looked over to the door.  
"Should we open it?" Alan whispered.  
Eric nodded. "You open it. They aren't looking for you." He hid against the wall near the door so he'd be able to listen to what was going on.  
Alan hesitated before going over to the door and opening it.  
There was a man standing on the porch. He was advanced in age. His hair was silver and tied back into a ponytail. He was slightly taller than Alan. He was dressed simply. Alan looked up at his face and the first thing he noticed were his eyes. They were green. Bright green.  
Grim Reaper green.  
"Hello sir." The man greeted. His accent was very thick. "I hope I didn't wake you." He had an apologetic smile on his face.  
"Oh, not at all. We were just making breakfast."  
"Ah, that's good." The man had his hands in his pockets.  
"So, might I help you with something?" Alan asked, leaning against the door frame.  
"Right, where are my manners?" My name is Adrian. I'm the caretaker of this house."  
"Nice to meet you. My name is Eric." Alan wasn't about to give his real name, but it was the only other name he could think of.  
"So, how long are you planning on staying in the house?"  
Alan's eyes widened. "Oh, I could leave right away. I didn't mean to trespass."  
"Woah, woah, calm down there lad. It's alright. Plenty of people have stayed here. I just came to give you a warning."  
"A warning?" Alan asked in confusion.  
"Aye. If it ever starts to get cold while you're staying here, get extra blankets, or even use the fire place, but whatever you do, never turn on the furnace in the basement."  
"The furnace?" Alan asked. "Is something wrong with it?"  
"Aye... There's a story that about a hundred years ago a man died in this house because of that furnace. I don't know why no one ever replaced it. I guess people think his ghost will come back and haunt them in their sleep in they do." Adrian chuckled softly.  
"Hm... The man who died. Do you happen to know his name?"  
"Aye. Eric Slingby it was. I heard he was a pretty good lad. Come to think of it, he was pretty young too. He had just gotten married and already had a kid."  
Alan could feel the blood in his veins run a bit cold. "I see."  
"Ah, sorry lad, I didn't mean to scare you. I just came to warn you so the same thing wouldn't happen to you."  
"Yes, thank you." Alan shifted uncomfortably in the doorway.  
"And before I go, I have something to give you."  
"Something to give me?"  
"Aye." Adrian reached deep into his pocket and pulled out a small pocket knife. "Just in case." He handed it over to Alan.  
"Just in case of what?" Alan took the knife and inspected it. It gave him a very uneasy feeling.  
"You know. Just in case something were to happen. It's better than not having anything thing."  
"Ah. Thank you sir." Alan still wasn't sure to what exactly Adrian might have been referring to.  
Adrian nodded. "Of course. Now, I really need to get back to my house. It was nice meeting you and I hope you have a pleasant stay. And remember. Keep that furnace shut off. Have a nice day." He turned and left, walking down the dirt path, back to his own house.  
Alan closed the door and went back to the kitchen to sit down.  
Eric quickly joined him. "Alan? You all right? You're looking really pale."  
Alan nodded. He put the knife on the table. Eric picked it up and looked it over.  
"I'm getting a funny feeling about this knife..."  
Alan took it back and thought or a moment.  
"I think that man was a reaper."  
"What?!" Eric instantly stood up. "That's it, we're leaving. Now." He started going about the room, trying to put things away and pack things up.  
"Eric, wait a minute. he doesn't work for the Dispatch."  
Eric stopped. "What? What are you talking about? All reapers work for the Dispatch."  
"He looked quite old," Alan explained. "And he wasn't wearing any glasses."  
Eric thought for a minute. "I suppose not then. "I'm still not liking him knowing that we're here."  
"You heard him. he's the caretaker of this house now. He's only doing his job."  
Eric only grumbled under his breath.  
A realization finally hit Alan.  
"It's a death scythe!"  
Eric looked up at him confused. "What?"  
"The knife. he just gave us a death scythe!"  
Eric looked at the knife again. "it it weren't sitting right in front of me, I'd call you crazy." Eric flipped it over. "But how? They collect your scythe when you retire."  
"Who knows. he did look quite old. He might know how to make his own."  
"I still don't want to stay here for long if someone knows we're here. "Eric sat down, rubbing at his temples.  
"Alright the. We'll leave this afternoon."  
Eric looked up. "No. We'll leave in the morning. We can go to town and get what we need. We can get your seeds." Eric thought for a minute. "We can take a carriage to the coast, then catch a ferry to Ireland. After that, then we can take the first boat to America."  
Alan looked up. "America? Why America?"  
"Because it's far enough away from here and they speak English."  
Alan nodded. "So after today we'll be living in America?"  
"Aye." Eric ran his fingers through his hair, frowning when a few strands came out on his fingers.  
Alan got up and hugged Eric from behind. He kissed the other's forehead. "Please don't worry love. We'll be alright."  
"I know Alan. I just can't help but worry."  
Alan started placing gentle kisses over Eric's face.  
"You really do need to relax love."  
Eric smirked softly. "You have any ideas on how to help me relax then?"  
Alan returned the smirk. "Perhaps. Though you'd have to follow me to the bed room."  
"Is that so?"  
"Don't get too excited. It's not all that."  
Eric followed Alan upstairs and sat down on the bed. Alan straddled his lap and kissed him softly.  
Eric smiled into the kiss.  
"Now, you just sit back and relax and let me do all of the work." Alan kissed up Eric's jaw to his earlobe and tugged on his earring gently with his teth.  
Eric bit his lip. "You sure about that Alan?"  
"Just relax love." Alan kissed down Eric's neck and sucked gently over his pulse point. He let his fingers wander over Eric's unclothed chest.  
Eric squirmed slightly beneath the touches.  
Alan kissed past Eric's collar bone to his chest. He briefly teased Eric's rosy buds before continuing to kiss down his torso. He let his tongue dive into Eric's navel before kissing above the edge of his pants.  
Eric tangled his fingers in Alan's hair. "Bloody hell, I nearly forgot how good you are with your lips."  
"Just wait to see what I can do with my tongue." Alan spread Eric's legs a bit further apart and knelt between them. He lowered the waist band of Eric's pants and freed his hardening member. He gave it a few lazy strokes, trying to get the other fully aroused.  
"Ah... Alan..." Eric groaned softly as Alan's hand pumped him slowly. "So this is what you had in mind?"  
"Perhaps." Alan gave a brief smirk before gently kissing the tip of Eric's member. Eric's fingers gripped Alan's hair tighter as his stomach muscles clenched.  
Alan placed gently kisses all along his shaft before taking the tip in his mouth.  
"Fuckin' hell... You're mouth feels amazing."  
Alan took more of Eric in his mouth and sucked gently, starting to bob his head up and down the stiff member.  
Eric groaned a bit louder as the warm and wet cavity of Alan's mouth moved around him.  
Alan could feel Eric's hips moving slightly beneath him, and took that as a sign to move faster. He let more of Eric slide into his mouth until his lips were around the base of Eric's member, his tip touching the back of Alan's throat.  
"Alan... Gods..." Eric tried to keep his hips still, so as to not gag the other.  
Alan sucked more vigorously, trying to bring Eric to climax.  
Eric's fingers gripped tighter in Alan's hair.  
"Alan... I..." Eric bit his lip. His hips bucked up and he climaxed into Alan's mouth.  
Alan swallowed all of Eric's load and milked him dry.  
Eric groaned loudly. After a moment, Alan pulled away and looked up at Eric with a small smirk on his face.  
"You're mouth is amazing love." Eric was panting softly, still trying to catch his breath.  
Alan smiled softly and sat next to Eric on the bed.  
Eric fixed his trousers and laid back on the bed.  
"Are you feeling better?" Alan asked, laying down next to Eric.  
Eric nodded. "Aye. Much better." He wrapped an arm around Alan and pulled him closer.  
"Don't get too comfortable Eric. We still need to go pick some apples, remember?"  
"I know, I know." Eric nuzzled into the crook of Alan's neck.  
"Well, perhaps a short nap won't hurt."  
Eric closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.  
Alan stayed awake while Eric slept and ran his fingers through the blonde tresses.  
After about an hour, Eric woke up and stretched.  
"Good morning Sleeping Beauty." Alan smiled softly and sat up as well.  
"Morning..." Eric rubbed at his eyes and yawned.  
"Are you ready to go pick some apples?" Alan got up and started to get dressed in his day clothes.  
Eric nodded sleepily and got up. He went to the closet and opened the door. Inside were clothes that looked like they would still fit Eric inside.  
"Eric, are those your clothes from when you were human?" Alan asked.  
Erick looked through the clothes for a moment. "Aye. They didn't get rid of them." Eric smiled softly and pulled out some clean clothes. He brushed them off to get the dust off of them and then looked at them for a moment before changing into them.  
"They still fit." Eric smiled softly and looked at himself in the mirror.  
Alan smiled as well. "You look quite dashing as a farm boy.  
Eric smirked. "You think so?" He twirled around to give Alan a better view.  
Alan laughed softly.  
Eric went back to the closet and started going through the clothes.  
"Did all of these dresses belong to your mother?" Alan asked, walking up behind Eric.  
Eric shook his head. "They belonged to my wife."  
Alan stepped closer and smiled softly. "These are absolutely beautiful."  
"She was quite the catch. I got lucky.: Eric went over tot he nightstand and opened the drawer. he pulled out a small black box. Inside was a ring. It was a simple gold band with a single diamond set in the middle.  
"Was that your wedding ring?" Alan asked.  
"No. it was Shannon's. She really left it." Eric also pulled a thin chain out of the drawer and put the ring on it.  
He waked over to Alan and put the chain around the smaller man's neck.  
"Eric? What are you doing?"  
Eric adjusted the chain and stepped back.  
"Eric?"  
"It looks nice on you."  
Alan smiled softly then went to remove it.  
Eric swatted his hand away gently. "I want you to keep it."  
Alan's eyes widened in surprise. "Eric, I couldn't!"  
"It's fine Alan. I want you do have it. You are my partner after all."  
A light blush covered Alan's cheek. "Thank you Eric."  
Eric smiled softly and kissed Alan's cheek. "Of course."  
Alan started playing with the ring at his throat.  
"Hey Alan?"  
"Yes?" Alan looked up.  
"You know how humans aren't as open as reapers?"  
"Yes. Why are you bringing this up?"  
"Well... Traveling as we are... It might bring too much attention to ourselves," Eric started.  
"All right... Are you recommending that we travel separately?" Alan asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.  
"No, nothing like that."  
"Then what are you suggesting?" Alan's interest had been piqued.  
"Well, you're about Shannon's size... And her dresses are still-"  
"No! Absolutely not! I refuse to dress as a woman!" Alan stood up abruptly, his arms crossed over his chest.  
"Come on Alan, I can't do it. I'm to big, and most women don't have facial hair."  
"Eric, I'm not wearing a dress!"  
"It wouldn't be for long. Just while we're in public. And just until we get to America. Then you won't have to wear them anymore."  
Alan sighed. "You're really not going to give in on this, are you?"  
"If I didn't think it was for the best, I wouldn't ask."  
Alan was staring at the ground, avoiding Eric's gaze.  
Eric sighed. "If you really don't want to wear one, you don't have to."  
Alan hesitated. "I'll at least try it on."  
Eric looked up hopefully. "What?"  
"I'll try it on."  
Eric smiled softly. He went tot the closet and pulled out a simple blue dress. It was simply embroidered. It was modestly cut with three-quarter sleeves. The skirt was flared slightly. It could honestly be owned by someone of a higher class than a person living on a farm.  
"Eric, are you sure this is all right?"  
"It's fine Alan. These dresses are too pretty to just sit here and collect dust. They ought to be worn by someone."  
"If you say so."  
Eric laid the dress on the bed. He went to the closet and pulled out a corset.  
Alan's eyes widened in surprise. "A corset? Is that really necessary? I'm thin enough as it is, you want me to be even thinner?"  
"It's just for the shape. People will be suspicious."  
"Well, at least I'm masculine in one area."  
"Come on Alan, you're just trying it on. I promise I won't make it too tight."  
"All right... Let's get this over with."  
"Goodness Alan, you'd think I was about to torture you or something."  
"Well, with how much women complain about not being able to breathe, you just might be."  
Eric chuckled softly. "I'm not going to tie it that tightly. And you don't need to breathe love, remember?"  
"Yes, I know, but... oh just do it."  
"You need to your clothes off first."  
"What? Oh, right." Alan started unbuttoning his shirt and took it off, folding it neatly on the bed. He slid out of his trousers and put them on the bed tool.  
"Do I need to remove my shorts as well?" Alan asked.  
"Aye. I've got some bloomers you can wear." Eric went to the dresser and pulled out a small pair of bloomers and held them out to Alan.  
Alan sighed heavily and took off his shorts. "Just don't laugh, alright?" He took the bloomers and put them on.  
"Why would I laugh love?" Eric asked as he put the corset around Alan's body.  
Alan bent over slightly and held onto the dresser for support.  
"Just relax Alan. I won't make it too tight."  
Alan took a breath to settle himself. "Just do it."  
Eric started tugging on the strings of the corset, making sure to make them tight enough so that it wouldn't slide down, but loose enough to still allow Alan to breathe.  
Alan stood up. It was pressing close against his rib cage and squeezing his waist but it didn't hurt. He tried to take a deep breath. It wasn't as deep as he would have liked it but he could still breathe.  
"It's definitely. None of my normal clothes fit me like this."  
Eric smiled softly. "I would imagine it would take some getting used to." He picked up the dress and held it up.  
"Ready?"  
Alan nodded and held his arms up. Eric helped him into the dress and smoothed out the skirt once it was on. He circled around Alan, trying to see the dress from every angle.  
"It fits you better than I thought it would."  
"This feels weird. I'm not used to such a breeze... Well, down there. Ugh, this is humiliating."  
Eric shook his head. "You look beautiful, Alan."  
Alan sighed and blushed a deep red. "I suppose I'll take that as a compliment."  
"Good." Eric smiled softly and looked him over once more. "Hm... Something is still missing."  
"Missing?" Alan frowned and went to look at himself in the mirror.  
Eric walked over to the dresser and pulled out a small length of blue ribbon from a box on the dresser. He used it to tie a small how in Alan's hair.  
"There, it's perfect." Eric smiled and admire his handiwork.  
"Eric, I truly feel ridiculous now."  
"What are you talking about? You look beautiful."  
"Hm..." Alan looked down.  
Eric pulled Alan into a tight embrace.  
"I suppose it will just take some getting used to," Alan said.  
"You can take it off if you want."  
Alan looked up at Eric. "How am I supposed to get used to it if I don't wear it?"  
Eric smiled softly. "You'll wear it then?"  
"I suppose so. At least it will throw off any one who is looking for us."  
"Aye. That's true. Thank you Alan."  
Alan looked back to the closet, examining some of the other dresses that were there.  
"You suppose we ought to take them with us? It's going to be a long boat ride," Eric said as he followed Alan's gaze to the closet. "She also had some petty coats to fluff them up a bit."  
"Yes, we should. It would be odd, and quite unhygienic, if I were to wear the same dress day after day."  
Eric went to the closet and started packing the dresses and petty coats.  
Alan helped him, folding them up neatly so everything would fit and not get wrinkled.  
There was one dress in particular that caught Alan's eye. It was a pale blue with long sleeves. It appeared to made of satin. A material much too rich for a simple farm life. It was quite decorated with a big skirt. There was even a small train on the back. It seemed to be set further back in the closet, separated from the other dresses. Eric seemed to handle it with extra care and was instant upon folding it himself.  
"Was that hers as well?" Alan asked as Eric put the dress in the turnk.  
"Aye. It was her wedding dress."  
"What?!" Alan's eyes widened in surprise." Eric, you can't take that with u-"  
"Aye, I can. And I'm going to. I want to keep it with me. To remember her."  
Alan sighed. "If you insist."  
Eric finished packing and closed the trunk. "We should be able tot leave in the morning. Everything's packed up." He sighed and looked down.  
"It must be hard..."  
"What?" Eric looked up confused.  
"It must be hard for you. You finally got to come back after all this time and now you have to leave so soon." Alan went over to Eric and hugged him tightly.  
"I'll be fine. After all, I didn't think I'd be able to come back at all." He returned the embrace.  
Alan could tell that this was hurting Eric more than he let on. Eric refused to let his emotions get the better of him, but as of late, they were stating to show through more and more. He figured that Eric would talk about it when he was ready.  
Eric finally pulled away after a few minutes. "Are you ready to go pick some apples?"  
Alan smiled softly. "Of course. Although, you'll have to show me how to do it. I've never done it before."  
"Oh Alan, you really ought to get out more."  
"It's not my fault I grew up in the city." Alan frowned, a bit indignant.  
"No, I suppose not. Come on, it's easy. All you have to do is twist and pull." He took Alan by the hand and led him down the stairs, out the door, and over to the apple tree, making sure to be mindful of the newly acquired skirt.  
Once they arrived at the tree, Eric dropped Alan's hand.  
"All right. Now, I'm going to hoist you onto my shoulders and-"  
"Hold on a moment, you're going to what?" Alan interrupted.  
Eric looked confused. "I'm going to put you on my shoulders. Unless of course you fell like climbing."  
"In a skirt? Hell no." Alan crossed his arms over his chest.  
"Okay then. On my shoulders you go." Eric knelt down to give Alan an easier time climbing up.  
"I swear, if you drop me..." He sighed and hitched up his skirt and started climbing on to Eric's back.  
"Don't you worry your pretty little head Alan. I wouldn't even think of dropping you."  
Eric held on tightly to Alan's legs and stood up slowly. Alan held on tightly to Eric, trying his best to stay balanced.  
"Oi, Alan?"  
"Yes?"  
"Do you mind moving your skirt? I can't see."  
"Oh, yes, of course." Alan quickly moved his skirt away from Eric's eyes.  
"Thank you." Eric smirked and dipped down suddenly, pretending to let go of Alan.  
"Eric!" Alan held on tightly to his head, nearly toppling them both over in the process.  
"Woah! It's all right Alan. I'm only teasing you." Eric made sure to keep a firm hold on Alan's legs and walked over to the apple tree.  
"That wasn't funny." Alan pouted and crossed his arms over his chest.  
Eric stood under the apple tree, under one of the lower hanging branches. "You think you can grab that apple right there?"  
"This one?" Alan asked, reaching up to grab the apple in question.  
"Aye. That one."  
"All right... Now that I'm holding it, what do I do?" Alan was a bit of a loss, never having been on a farm before.  
"Just twist and pull. It should come right off."  
Alan braced himself and gave the apple a twist and a good tug. He nearly lost his balance again in the process.  
"You all right there Alan?"  
"Yes, I'm fine." Alan took a breath to steady himself, then looked down to his hand, pleased that he had gotten the fruit on the first try.  
"Do I just drop it now?" Alan asked.  
"No, no. You'll bruise it that way. Hand it here." Eric reached up for the apple.  
Alan handed it to him and Eric let it roll gently to the ground. They continued this way for about an hour until they had picked all of the apples they could reach.  
Eric helped Alan back down to his feet and they both carried as many of the apples as they could back to the house. They rinsed them off with some water from the creek before peeling and pressing them.  
"You know, I don't think I've ever made juice before," Alan said as he watched the juice drip into the pitcher. He had given up squeezing and let Eric do it, seeing as the other was getting more juice out of them in the first place.  
Eric stopped squeezing and poured Alan a small glass of juice. "Then you have to try this. You'll love it."  
Alan took a tentative sip and smiled brightly. "I've never tasted juice so fresh."  
Eric smiled as well. "A lot of things are going to taste fresher now."  
They finished making juice and made some simple salads for lunch.  
After lunch, they spent the rest of the day tidying up the house, trying to make it look as though they hadn't been there. They placed the parts back on the furniture they didn't plan on using that night. They couldn't however put the dust that they had removed back.  
It was late in the evening when they finally finished cleaning. All they would have to do in the morning was close the windows in the bedroom, make the bed and leave. They used as much of the food as they could manage for dinner. When they finished eating, they washed all of the dishes and pans and put them all away.  
Eric took one last look at the room.  
Alan placed a hand on Eric's shoulder. "Are you ready to bed to bed?" He asked. "I'm ready to get out of this corset."  
"Of course." Eric escorted Alan upstairs and helped him out of the dress and corset. They packed away their clothes and changed into the night clothes.  
"This will be the last night that I get to sleep in my bed." Eric sad down on the edge of the bed, rubbing at his temples.  
Alan sat down next to him, wrapping an arm around him.  
"Sorry Alan, this shouldn't be getting to me like this." Eric laid back on the bed, his hands covering his face.  
"Eric, it's alright. You've been dealing with a lot lately." Alan laid down next to Eric and kissed him on the cheek.  
Eric smiled softly and wrapped an arm around Alan.  
"Come on love. Let's get to bed. We have to get moving in the morning," Eric said.  
"Two weeks on a boat. It sounds quite exciting." Alan smiled softly and nuzzled into Eric. He took off his glassed and put them on the night stand.  
Eric too on his glasses and placed them with Alan's before wrapping the blankets around them.  
"Good night Alan.' Eric pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Alan's head.  
Alan smiled softly and closed his eyes. "Good night Eric."  
The reapers both fell asleep quickly that night and slept quite soundly.


	8. Chapter 8

Will woke up early that morning. He was absolutely exhausted. He hadn't slept very well that night. He had been tossing and turning all night, and when he did manage to fall asleep, it was very fitful and full of nightmares. When his alarm went off, he sat up with a groan and turned it off. He rubbed at his eyes before putting on his glasses and getting up. He shuffled down the stairs to the kitchen and started brewing a large pot of coffee. He waited until it was done before pouring himself a cup. He slowly sipped at his coffee as he went about getting his clothes together for the day. He packed a small bag with a pair of pajamas and a change of clothes so that when work was over, he could grab the bag and leave.  
He quickly got dressed and combed his hair. He looked himself over in the mirror, paying particular attention to make sure his attire was neat. Once he deemed himself appropriate, Will grabbed a folder off of the table and took the envelop that Eric had addressed to him and put it in his pocket. He grabbed his keys and scythe and left the house, making sure to lock the door behind him.  
He frowned as he stepped outside, the bright sun light and his lack of sleep not combining well. Once he hailed a carriage, he got inside quickly and gave the driver directions. Once he was moving, he drew all of the curtains shut to black out the light and rubbed at his temples, trying to ward off the oncoming headache.  
The carriage stopped in front of the Dispatch building. He got out and paid the driver and made his way to his office. He felt a small pang of sadness when he saw the dent in the handrail of the lift.  
The lift stopped and Will got off. He went to his office and immediately busied himself with reports, trying to keep his mind busy.  
About an hour later, there was a knock at his door.  
"It is open."  
The door opened slowly and Grell stepped in.  
"Hello Will," he greeted quietly, not at all like his usual self.  
"What is it Reaper Sutcliff? I am very busy today."  
Grell made no comments, and instead cut straight to the chase.  
"Are you sure they're going to be there Will? I want to find them as much as you do, but if they aren't there... We can't leave an entire division uncovered."  
"Do not worry yourself with this matter. We will find them, I assure you. Now, if you please, I need to return to work. And so do you." Will's eyes hadn't once strayed from the report.  
"Yes... Of course." Grell sighed. "I'll see you at the end of our shift then." Grell dismissed himself, closing the door quietly.  
Will continued working on reports until everything had been completed and filed, and he found himself with nothing to do. He went back to his office after dropping off a few reports and pulled out a book of maps from his bookshelf. He sat down at his desk and leafed through the book until he arrived at a map of Scotland.  
He quickly started looking for Glasgow, remembering Eric once telling him that he lived north outside of the city. Will started memorizing routes and streets, trying to find the fasted path out of the city. He pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, writing down his chose route from the train station in the heart of the city. Once he finished, he folded the paper and put it in his pocket. He looked up at the clock. It was only 3 o'clock. His shift didn't end for another three hours. He sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was going to be a long three hours.  
After three hours of nearly starting at the clock, Wills shift was finally over. He stood up and straightened his clothes. He was about to open the door and there was a knock on the door. Will paused and then opened the door.  
Grell and Ronald were standing in the door way. Ronald had small bag in his hands. Grell had his arms crossed over his chest.  
"Hey Boss. Since I live out of the way, I figured I'd bring my stuff with me," Ronald said, nervously swaying on his feet.  
"Yes. I assume you are both ready to leave?" Will asked.  
Grell nodded. "Yes, let's go. I still need to get my things."  
Will followed Grell and Ronald to the lift. They rode down to the first floor. They hailed a carriage and went to Grell's house. Grell went inside and grabbed his bag and went back to the carriage.  
Will walked across the street and grabbed his own things. He made sure his instructions were still in his pocket. He also made sure he had the envelope with Eric's letter and the money that Eric gave him. He looked over his things to make sure that he had everything that he needed. He locked the door as he left and climbed back into the carriage. He gave the driver directions and they were on their way to the train station.  
"Hey Boss, are you sure that the trains run this late?" Ronald asked, trying to break the tense silence.  
"They do not run as often at night, but they are a few." Will was staring out of the window, watching the buildings go by.  
"Will darling, are you alright?" Grell asked, voice full of concern. "Your hands are shaking."  
Will looked down and saw his fingers tapping against his leg.  
"They aren't shaking. I am fine." Will moved his hand from sight. He seemed to have a habit of usuing his leg as a piano when he was nervous.  
Grell looked down, frowning.  
After thirty minutes, they arrived at the train sation. Will paid the driver and they all got out. They got their bags and went into the station. Will went straight to the counter.  
"Excuse me ma'am?"  
The lady at the counter looked up. "Yes sir, how may I help you?"  
"I would like three tickets for the next train that leaves for Glasgow please."  
The woman looked down at a chart. "The next train leaves in just under two hours. It's already here if you want to board it."  
"Yes, that would be perfect."  
They lady picked up three tickets and stamped each of them.  
"That will be eight pounds sir."  
Will pulled out eight pounds and handed it to the woman. The woman verified the amount and handed him the tickets.  
"I hope you have a pleasant ride sir."  
"Thank you." Will took the tickets and handed one to both Ronald and Grell.  
"Oh Will, you didn't have to pay for my ticket. I could have done that," Grell said, putting his ticket in his pocket.  
"It's fine. Now let us go find a compartment. The train will leave in two hours."  
Ronald was about to offer to repay Will for his ticket, but he wasn't about to start an argument.  
"After we put our stuff down, do you think we could grab a bite to eat?" Ronald asked, his arms behind his head. "I'm starving."  
"Yes. We ought to eat before we leave." Will looked around the station. "There is a small restaurant over there if that would suit your tastes."  
Grell followed Will's gaze.  
"That looks wonderful. Come on now, let's go. My stomach feels as though it's about to eat itself." Grell grabbed his bag and started walking toward the train with William and Ronald in tow.  
Once in the train, they settled into a compartment.  
"Aw man, there's only one bed." Ronald complained.  
"If that is truly a problem Mr. Knox, then I shall sleep on the floor. You and Mr. Sutcliff may share the bed."  
"Absolutely not Will!" Grell exclaimed. "With your back? There's no way in hell I'm letting you sleep on the floor."  
Will sighed, starting to feel a bit exasperated already.  
"Fine. Then we shall decide our sleeping arrangements later. Let us go eat before the train departs."  
Grell wasn't too happy with that decision, but let it go as he stomach growled loudly.  
All three of them left the train and headed for the restaurant. They sat down and ordered their foo and ate mostly in silence once it arrived, only occasionally making comments about the quality of their meal. They finished eating and Will payed the bill.  
"William!" Grell frowned as the waiter took the bill.  
"Yes?"  
"You don't need to keep paying for everything. I do make my own salary you know."  
"I am well aware of that. It is honestly not an issue."  
"Boss, it's really not a problem. We can pay for ourselves, right Senpai?" Ronald asked, looking over to Grell.  
Grell nodded in agreement. "I'm not going to have you pay for everything."  
Will sighed. "If it truly upsets you that much, then you may pick up the tip."  
Grell frowned but pulled out his walled. He placed some money on the table and then tried to hand some to Will. Will however, would not accept it.  
"Oh Will, at least let me pay you back for something."  
Will shook his head ans stood up. "That is not necessary Mr. Sutcliff. Now, we ought to return to the train before it leaves without us." He turned and headed back to their compartment on the train.  
"Honestly, I just can't understand that man sometimes..." Grell stood up and pushed in his chair.  
"Don't worry Senpai. I don't think anybody can." Ronald stood up. "But ye's right. We ought to get moving if we don't want to get left behind."  
Grell sighed. "Yes, I suppose we should."  
Grell and Ronald walked back tot he compartment together. Will was moving about the room, already changed into his pajamas.  
"I'm going to go use the water closet," Grell announced, going to get his night clothes from his bag. "I can't change in front of a couple of gentlemen, now could I?"  
Ronald looked up at Grell, confused. "But Senpai, aren't you-"  
Grell cut him off with a death glare.  
"Never mind..." Ronald looked down.  
"Now, I'm going to change. Unless of course someone might want to help me change." He smirked over to Will.  
"No Sutcliff." Will's eyes stayed trained on the book he had started reading.  
"Oh, come on Will, I'm only teasing you. Lighten up a bit darling."  
"Were you not going to change?"  
Grell sighed and took his things to the water closet, closing and locking the door behind him as he got ready for the night.  
Ronald sat down on the edge of the bed once Grell was gone.  
"Oi, Boss. Don't you think that was a bit harsh?" He asked, looking over to William. "He was only joking with you after all."  
"The joke was made in poor taste. Not only that, but this is hardly the time to be joking."  
Ronald sighed heavily. "Goodness Boss, even with your specs, you're still blind."  
Will frowned and sat up, snapping his book shut. "And what exactly do you mean by that, Mr. Knox?"  
"Do you even know how Grell Senpai feels for you?"  
Will scowled. "I am very aware of Sutcliff's affections for me."  
"Are you sure? I don't think you do." Ronald crossed his arms over his chest.  
"Would you care to explain your self?"  
"Sure. Well, to put it bluntly boss, the man is in love with you. And I may have only been here for a few years, but it looks like he's liked you for quite a while."  
"I am well aware of this Mr. Knox. What is your point?"  
"My point is that you should go easier on him. He's been going after you for what, almost a century now? Don't you think that means something?"  
Will didn't answer.  
"Let me ask you something Boss. How do you feel about Grell Senpai?"  
"What?" Will looked up, his eyes widened slightly in surprise.  
"How do you feel about Grell? Do you like him?"  
Will thought for a moment before answering. "I do suppose he is quite attractive. And I could say loyal. Though he can be quite troublesome at time, I do not think that the Dispatch... Anything would be the same without him."  
"So, do you like him?"  
Will could feel a very faint blush cover his cheeks. "I suppose you could say that."  
Ronald smiled softly. "Then why don't you give him a chance?"  
"I do not enjoy his acting out in public. He is quite clingy at very inappropriate times."  
"You know he only does a lot of that to get your attention. If you'd just pay the slightest bit more attention to him, he might behave more. He wants you to notice him."  
"You believe so?" Will raised an eyebrow skeptically. "And where might you have gained this information Mr. Knox?"  
"Well, it's not as though Grell Senpai and I are strangers. He is my mentor after all. We get to talking at times."  
Will thought all of this over for minute. He did realize that he'd been getting quite lonely lately. And he did like Grell. Whenever they managed to have a normal conversation, Will had always felt slightly more uplifted than before.  
"I suppose I could give it a try," Will finally said.  
Ronald looked up hopefully. "You mean you'll give him a chance?"  
"That is what I just said, Mr. Knox. Is it not?"  
"Thanks Boss." Ronald smiled brightly and stood up. "Now it's time for me to get ready for bed." He started undressing.  
"I do hope you brought a pair of pajamas with you Mr. Knox."  
"Pajamas? Of course not. I sleep in the nude."  
"What?" Will's eyes widened in surprise. "I do hope you did not plan on sleeping in such a state tonight."  
Ronald chuckled softly. "Course not Boss. I'm gonna keep my shorts on."  
"Honestly...." Will pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, I suppose it's better than nothing."\  
Ronald finished dressing, or rather undressing for that matter and put his clothes in his bag and sat down on the edge of the bed.  
By this time, Grell had finished changing and taking off his make up. He came out, his eyes to the ground.  
"Ugh... I hate going about without my make up, but it really isn't good for the skin to sleep in it. I feel so awful looking. So..." He frowned and sighed.  
"Do not worry yourself about your appearance," Will said, putting his book away. "You look beautiful."  
Grell froze in shock, nearly dropping the brush in his hand.  
"What was that Will?"  
"I said that you look beautiful."  
Grell's cheeks blushed pink. He was wearing a simple modest red night gown. It wasn't revealing in the slightest. He wasn't even wearing make up.  
"William, are you sure you're feeling alright?" Grell walked over to Will and placed a hand against his forehead to see if he had a temperature.  
"I assure you I am fine," Will said, pulling Grell's hand away from his face.  
"Are you certain? I don't think you've ever complimented me before."  
Ronald laughed softly. "What's wrong Senpai? Can't you take a compliment?"  
Grell smacked the back of Ronald's head.  
"Ow!" Ronald frowned, holding the back of his head.  
"I can take a compliment. I'm just not used to them coming from WIll is all. "Thre was a light blush covering Grell's cheeks.  
"Aw, is Senpai all flustered now?" Ronald teased.  
Grell glared at him and Ronald cowered away.  
"Before I am forced to break up a fight, why don't we discus the matters of our sleeping arrangements?" Will asked.  
"All right, but I'm still not allowing you to sleep on the floor, Will," Grell said.  
Will sighed. "Though it would be a bit of a tight fit, I do suppose the bed is large enough for the three of us to share."  
"All right then, but only if I get to sleep next to you Will~"  
"Aww, but Senpai, I wanted to sleep next to him," Ronald complained.  
Will rolled his eyes. "Honestly, you two are acting like children."  
Ronald laughed softly. "I'm only joking. I really don't care where I sleep. As long as I do get some sleep, I'll be fine.  
Ronald laid down on the side of the bed, immediately climbing under the covers.  
Will laid down on the other side, leaving Grell in the middle.  
Once Will was settled in, he took off his glasses and set them on the night stand next to the bed.  
Grell laid down and cuddled into Will happily.  
Will tensed slightly before relaxing into the hold. It was surprisingly nice. Will could feel Grell nuzzling into his back and Grell's arms around his waist. Will placed his hand over Grell's arms, keeping them in place.  
"Will? Can I ask you something?" Grell whispered to him.  
"Yes. What is your question?"  
"Did you really mean it?" Grell asked.  
"Mean what?"  
"What you said earlier. That I was beautiful."  
Will smiled softly, knowing that no one would be able to see it in the dark. "Yes Grell, I really did mean it."  
Will could hear the small gasp behind him. Grell pulled Will a bit closer, not wanting to let the other man go.  
"Good night my darling William, and sweet dreams."  
"Good night Grell."  
"Night Boss, night Senpai," Ronald chimed in.  
"Good night Mr. Knox."  
Grell chuckled softly. "Good night Ronnie~"  
All three of the reapers fell asleep quickly that night, being quite tired from the long day in the office.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, Eric was woken up by the sun shining through the window. Eric sat up slowly and rubbed at his eyes. He put on his glasses and got out of the bed slowly so he wouldn't wake up Alan. He went to his closet and got out the rest of the clothes out and packed them away. Their trunks were quite full and were going to be quite heavy.  
Eric looked back over to Alan. He was still still fast asleep. Eric smiled softly and went over to him and kissed him on the forehead. Alan stirred softly but quickly fell back asleep.  
Eric then went downstairs to start making breakfast. Eric was nearly done cooking when Alan came downstairs.  
"Good morning love," Eric greeted as he finished stacking the toast on the plate.  
"Good morning Eric." Alan smiled softly and sat down at the table.  
Eric put the plate on the table and pour them both a glass of water.  
"So. How exactly will we be getting to the coast?" Alan asked, nibbling on a piece of toast. "I really hope you weren't planning on walking across Scotland."  
"Of course not. That'd take way too long. We're going to take a carriage. It will take about an hour and a half to get to the harbor. After that we'll take the ferry to Ireland. Today we can go shopping in the city before we leave. We'll need to buy your some more dresses."  
"I know it's necessary, but it's still humiliating. To think, not only will you see it, but I'll be in public as well."  
Eric got up and hugged Alan tightly. "Don't you worry Alan. I think you look pretty."  
Alan frowned and rolled his eyes.  
"Alan, in all seriousness, you do look nice. It's definitely different. But it's nice."  
"You really think so?" Alan looked up, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.   
"Aye, I do." Eric smiled softly and sat back down across from Alan and started eating his breakfast.  
"Will I have to wear the corset every day?" Alan asked.  
"Not every day. Only if we have to go out. It's only because the dresses won't fit without them. Women just have a different shape. Anyways, if we're on the boat, I could just bring some food back to our room."  
Alan thought for a minute. "Won't it change my figure?"  
"Only if your wear it religiously like Sutcliff." Eric chuckled softly.   
"Really? He wears a corset?"  
"Of course! His waist didn't start out like that after all."  
Alan smirked. "You would know that."  
"Hey, what does that mean?"  
Alan's smirk grew a bit wider. "Oh, I think you know.  
Eric stuck his tongue out childishly. "Come on, let's get dressed. We can washed the dishes afterwards and then get going."  
Alan nodded. "Yes, let's go."  
Eric and Alan went upstairs and quickly got dressed. Eric made sure that Alan's corset wasn't too tight before helping him into the dress. Eric tied the ribbon in Alan's hair and kissed him on the cheek.  
"I'm still not too thrilled about going out in public like this." Alan frowned, looking at himself in the mirror.  
"You look beautiful love. Now come one. Let's go."  
Eric led Alan downstairs and they started washing the dishes. Once they were clean, they put them all away.  
"Are all of our things packed?" Alan asked, going over to his trunk.  
"Aye. We're all ready to go." Eric grabbed both of the trunks and took them downstairs to the door.  
"Eric, I can carry my own trunk," Alan said, following him down the steps.  
"Alan, you're dressed as a woman. People will start staring if you're dragging it along."  
"I can't have you dragging it all that way. Not two trunks."  
Eric sighed. "All right. Just to the city limits. Then I'll carry it and well get a carriage as soon as we can and then we'll be on our way."  
Alan thought about it. "I suppose that's fine. It doesn't seem like we really have another option."  
Eric nodded and handed Alan his trunk. They walked through the door for the last time. Eric took the key from under the mat and locked the door, sticking the key in his pocket so that no one would be able to stay in the house any more. He looked at the house once more before stepping off of the porch and started down the dirt path back towards the city. Alan made sure to stay close behind him.  
They walked slower on their way back to the city, neither of them really wanting to go.  
"Eric? Might I ask you a question?" Alan asked. They were nearly to the outskirts of the city.  
"Of course. What's on your mind?"  
"What are we going to do if they find us? There's no way we could fight back. What will we do then?"  
Eric thought for a minute. "You're right. We can't fight back... We could either try running away again or... We could let them take us. But we'll just think about that if it happens. We're just going to keep running. They won't find us. We won't let them catch us."  
Alan was silent. He knew there was always the chance that they would be caught. Alan wasn't worried about his own life. He didn't care what would happen to him. He knew he was going to die eventually. Whether it was through an execution or an attack of the Thorns, he was going to die. He was more worried about Eric. Eric had a future. He could keep going. If they could get away, Eric could keep living. He could even start another farm if he wanted. Maybe even another family... Eric had something to live for. A purpose. But if they were caught, it would all be taken away. Eric would be killed and his name erased from records. And once they were both gone, that was it. No one would remember them. It would be as though they never existed.  
As a death god, Alan never though that the idea of death would frighten him, but he was honestly terrified. He wanted them to both get away. They had to get away.  
"Hey Alan?"  
"What?" Eric's voice broke Alan from his thoughts.  
"Are you feeling all right? You're looking a bit pale."  
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about something."  
"Well, we're almost to the city, so you should hand over your trunk."  
"Right, of course." Alan nodded and handed Eric his trunk.   
Eric dragged both trunks behind him, his pace slowing a bit to accommodate the extra weight.  
After another twenty minutes, they reached the city limits.  
"Let's start looking for a carriage. You ought to get off your feet," Eric said. He was panting lightly.  
"Me? I'm only walking. If you need a break, we can stop for a moment. We could go get lunch. It's going to be a while before we eat again. And then we could visit that flower shop I saw earlier. I could get some seeds and we'd be on our way."  
Eric nodded in agreement. "But we still need to find a carriage first."  
"Well I know that. We can't have you dragging those trunks everywhere."  
Alan sneezed.  
Eric looked up and Alan sneezed again.  
"Are you feeling okay Alan? You're not getting sick, are you?" Eric asked.  
"I'm perfectly fine Eric. I just have something in my nose." Alan sneezed another time.  
"Are you sure? You don't look like you're feeling too well."  
"I'm fine Eric. I'm not getting sick."  
In all honestly, Alan wasn't really fine. His head hurt and he was really tired. He was a bit out of breath, but he wasn't trying to give it away. When ever he breathed deeply, he felt a stabbing pain in his chest. He was sure it wasn't the Thorns, but whatever it was was extremely uncomfortable, and he was miserable.  
Once they started getting to the more populated sections of the city, they hailed a carriage. Eric put the trunks on the top of the carriage and they went to a small cafe for lunch. They finished eating and went to a small market in the center of the city. Alan went to the small flower shop and bought some flower seeds.  
By this time, Alan's sneezing had grown more frequent. His head was throbbing quite painfully and now he had started coughing. He was also feeling a bit dizzy and a little unsteady on his feet.  
"Hey Alan?" Eric asked, pulling Alan aside on the street. "Are you sure you're all right? You really look like you're coming down with something. You look like you could collapse any moment."  
"I'm fine... Just a bit-" His response was cut off by a violent coughing fit.  
"Alan!" Eric placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know you're not fine. What's going on? Are you having an attack?"  
Alan shook his head, placing a hand on his chest. "No... This is different." His voice was strained.  
Eric took Alan's bag and led him to the carriage.   
"Alan, what's going on?" Eric was trying to stay calm, but he was worried. What the hell was going with Alan? This was too different to be an attack. Even a mild one. Attacks didn't make reapers sick.  
"Let's go. We're taking you to the hospital." Eric gave the driver the directions and told him to hurry.  
For once, Alan didn't argue. They hurried to the hospital and some nurses immediately took him back. Eric told the driver to stay and he went back with Alan.  
While the nurses were working on him, Eric sat in a corner, trying to stay out of their way.  
After a few minutes, a doctor came in and performed a few tests on him. He drew some blood and listened to his chest. After a minute, the doctor walked over to Eric.  
"Hello sir, is this your wife?" The doctor asked.  
"Aye. That's... Alan....a... Alena. Is she going to be all right? What's going on?" Eric's flurry of questions flowed out quickly.  
"Yes sir. Please calm down. You're wife is very sick. She has pneumonia. But with plenty of rest and some medicine, she should be fine."  
Eric looked over to Alan lying on the bed. He was currently asleep on the small bed. He was pale and his forehead was covered with a light layer of cold sweat.  
"Are you sure she's going to be fine?"  
"Yes sir. This should pass in no more than two weeks. I will come back with the medicine she will need in about an hour."  
"Thank you doctor."  
"Of course." The doctor wrote something down on a clip board and left.  
Eric took the stool and sat down next to Alan. He held on to the other man's hand tightly. "Please be okay, Alan. You can't die on me. Please be okay."  
Eric could see the slight rise and fall of Alan's breathing.  
After an hour, the doctor came back with two bags.  
"Sir?"  
Eric had just started dozing off. "Hm..?"  
"I have the medicine. For this bottle of pills, she will need to take three every morning until they are all gone. In this bag are five syringes and small vials. You'll need to inject one in her thigh every morning. After that, she will be fine. She won't be very hungry for a few days, but make sure she's still drinking. If she isn't able to hold down water, then bring her back in. Do you think you'll be able to remember all of this?"  
"Yes, of course. Thank you doctor. How much do I owe you?" Eric asked, pulling out his wallet.  
"Nothing. This clinic is free. I don't charge my patients. I want to help people get better when they are sick. I'm not going to let the cost of medicine prevent my patients from being seen. This hospital runs on charity, and I plan to make it stay that way."  
Eric smiled softly. "Thank you doctor."  
The doctor handed him the bags of medicine. "You and your wife are free to leave when you'd like."  
"Thank you very much doctor."  
The doctor filled out a few more forms and left. Eric picked Alan up gently, making sure not to wake him. He carried Alan and the medicine to the carriage.  
"Sir, is she okay?" The driver asked, looking at Alan with concern.  
"Aye, she'll be fine. Just take us to the harbor please."  
The driver nodded and started toward the habor.  
Alan stayed asleep through the duration of the carriage ride to the harbor. Once they arrived the driver helped Eric get the trunks on to the ferry and Eric paid him handsomely.  
Once the driver was gone, Eric went to go buy themselves tickets for the ferry.  
"Excuse me sir," the man at the ticket counter said. "Is it really safe for her to be traveling?"  
Eric nodded. "Of course. She's just tired."  
The man hesitated before stamping the tickets.  
Eric paid him and took the tickets before boarding the ferry. He found their trunks and sat down near them, placing Alan in his lap.  
They ferry was nearly half way there when Alan finally woke up. He was stirring in Eric's arms.  
"Alan?" Eric whispered. "You awake?"  
"Eric?" Alan sat up slowly, rubbing at his eyes while he tried to stifle a cough.  
"How are you feeling love?" Alan was still looking rather pale.  
"My head hurts... And I'm freezing." He wrapped his arms around himself.  
Eric frowned and held him close.  
"Wait, Eric? Where are we?" Alan asked, looking around.  
"We're on the ferry. We're going to Ireland. Hopefully there's a ship to America already there."  
Alan nodded weakly and rested his head in the crook of Eric's neck.  
Eric winced. "You feel really warm Alan."  
"No I'm not. It's freezing."  
"Alan, it's the middle of the summer. Trust me, it's not as cold as you think." He felt Alan's forehead. He felt awfully warm.  
"It's still cold..." Alan complained, nuzzling more into Eric.  
Eric just held him close, trying to keep the other warm and calm.   
The ferry landed about an hour later. There was a very large ship in the harbor.  
"Well. This looks promising," Eric muttered to himself as they started allowing passengers off of the ferry.  
"Hey, Alan. Do you think you're fine to walk on your own for a bit?"  
Alan stood up shakily. He was a bit wobbly, but he stayed standing.  
"Let's go. We can go buy our tickets and then you can go lay down and get some rest."   
Eric led Alan over to the ticket stand. However, Alan's steps were growing smaller and slower.  
"Alan? You all right?" Eric asked as he stopped walking to allow the other to catch up.  
"I'm just feeling a bit dizzy."  
Eric could see Alan leaning over and immediately went to catch him, dropping both of their trunks in the process.  
"Alan?" Eric asked, shaking Alan's shoulder.  
There was no response.  
"Alan? Alan!" He shook him harder, but Alan still wouldn't respond.  
"Shite... Come on Alan, wake up!" Eric looked down to his chest. It was still moving.  
"At least he's still breathing." Eric rushed him over to the ticket counter.  
"Excuse me ma'am?"  
"Yes?" She looked over to Eric.  
"I need two tickets for the next boat to America."  
The lady looked down to Eric and then to Alan. "Are you sure it's safe for her to be traveling? We may have doctors on board, but we don't allow passengers to come on when their ill."  
Eric sighed in frustration. "She's fine. She's just tired from traveling all day. We've been up since the crack of dawn. She fell asleep on the ferry and I didn't have the hiieart to wake her up and make her walk. I just want to lay her down so she can get some proper sleep." The lie was hastily made and Eric could only hope that the lady would believe him.  
She seemed to. "If you say so." She looked down at the chart in front of her. She stamped two tickets and handed them to Eric.  
Eric quickly paid her for the tickets.  
"The third class entrance is down there, all the way at the end of the pier. I hope you have a pleasant trip." She said.  
"Wait a minute, third class?" Eric asked, frowning down at the tickets.  
"Yes sir. Third class. All of the second class rooms are full. Unless you happen to be able to afford a first class suite, that's all that is left.  
Eric frowned but put the tickets in his pocket. "Fine. Thank you." He quickly took Alan to the entrance of the ship. Once they were inside, Eric found their room and went in and laid Alan on one of the two beds, tucking him in under the covers. He quickly ran back out and got their trunks and brought them into the room. He carefully stacked them in the tiny closet and took the key that was sitting on the night stand and used it to lock the door.  
Once they were all settled in, Eric set the small stool next to the bed where Alan way laying.  
Alan was just starting to stir.  
"Eric?" He tried to sit up.  
Eric pushed him back on the bed. "Just lay down Alan. You need your rest."  
Alan frowned but stayed laying down on the bed.  
"How are you feeling?" Eric asked, gently running his fingers through Alan's hair.  
"Tired. And a bit thirsty. Is there any water?"  
Eric stood up and went into the water closet. He filled a small glass and a pitcher with water. He came back and handed Alan the glass of water, helping him to sit up and drink it.  
Once Alan was done, Eric took the half empty glass and placed it on the night stand with the pitcher.  
"Is that better?" Eric asked, making sure that the blankets were covering Alan.  
"Yes. Thank you." Alan curled up under the blankets.  
"Is there anything else I can get you? I can't really give you any medicine until the morning."  
"No. I'm all right. I think I'm just going to go to sleep. I'm bloody exhausted."  
Eric nodded. "All right then. You get some sleep." He took Alan's glasses and put them on the night stand, making sure that they were still within Alan's reach.  
"Eric, I could have taken my glasses off."  
"Don't worry about it Alan. You just get some sleep. I'll be right across the room if you need me."  
"Wait Eric. Before you go." Alan reached out blindly for Eric's hand.  
"Aye? What is it?" Eric took Alan's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.  
"Could you help me out of this corset? It's getting to be a bit difficult to breathe."  
"Oh right! Of course." Eric helped Alan sit up and helped him out of the dress and corset before putting them away. He pulled out a pair of Alan's pajamas as well as his own. He set his pajamas on the bed before helping Alan into his.  
"There we go. Is that better?"  
"Much better." Alan relaxed into the bed. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world. It was merely a thin mattress set upon some metal piping. "Thank you."  
Eric mused Alan's hair gently before pressing a kiss to his forehead.  
"Now you get some rest. I'll see you in the morning."  
"Good night Eric." Alan closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.  
Eric gave Alan a kiss on the cheek before going over to his own bed. He changed into his pajamas. He looked over to Alan, seeing that the other was still asleep. He climbed into his own bed and took off his glasses, putting them on the night stand. Eric was having trouble getting comfortable in the tiny bed. It was really too small for someone of his size and stature. He curled up awkwardly, hoping that he could get himself to fit in the bed. He pulled the covers tightly around him and fell into a light sleep, listening out for the other reaper in case he woke up in the middle of the night.


	10. Chapter 10

It was early that morning when Will woke up. The constant moving and jerking of the train and the cramped conditions of the uncomfortable bed made it very difficult for Will to fall asleep and stay asleep. When he finally gave up on trying to fall asleep, his back was aching something awful He sat up on the edge of the bed and put on his glass. He rubbed at his back, frowning. Sitting up wasn't helping much.  
"Will...?" Grell sat up sleepily and rubbed at his eyes. Will's shifting around in the bed had woken him up.  
"Yes?" His teeth were clenched tightly.  
"Are you all right? You sound like you're in pain." Grell reached for his glasses and put them on before looking at Will.  
"I'm perfectly fine." He winced and continued rubbing at his back.  
"Your back hurts, doesn't it?" Grell asked.  
"I will be fine."  
Grell scooted closer to Will and sat behind him. "I could rub your back if it's bothering you Will. I don't mind. Besides, you're not going to get very far today like this."  
Will sighed in defeat. He knew Grell was right. If his back was hurting this badly, and they hadn't even started walking, he couldn't imagine what it would be like later.  
"Fine. Do as you please." Will sat up farther to give Grell better access to his back. He still wasn't too fond of giving Grell permission to touch him.  
Grell scooted closer to Will and started rubbing at his neck and shoulder, working hard to get out any knots. As Grell moved farther down his back, the knots were getting harder to work out.  
"Will, how in death's name could you allow your back to get so bad?" Grell frowned and winced at the many pops and cracks he heard.  
Will winced as well. "I assure you, it was not intentional."  
Grell continued massaging Will's back. As Grell worked his way down Will's back, Will relaxed slowly.  
Grell was nearly done when Will's back gave a particularly loud crack.  
Ronald started waking up behind them.  
"Senpai? What happened? I though I heard something break." He sat up slowly and yawned.  
"It's nothing Ronnie, just go back to sleep," Grell said.   
Will's back cracked again and he groaned in pain.  
"Wha...?" Ronald put on his glasses and looked at Grell and Will. "What the hell Senpai? I just woke up and you're already feeling each other up?" Ronald groaned and flopped down on the bed, covering his head with a pillow.  
"Oh Ronnie, it's nothing like that. I was merely helping William out with his back." Grell finished rubbing Will's back and pressed a gentle kiss to the nape of his neck. "There we go. That ought to feel better."  
Will stretched his back and rolled his shoulders. He was feeling much better already.  
"Yes. Thank you very much."  
"Of course darling~" Grell smiled happily.  
"Now. We ought to get up and get dressed. It seems as though we've arrived," Will said, looking out of the window.  
Grell looked out of the window too. "To think I'm only a train ride away and I've never been to Scotland before."  
"Neither have I." Will got out of the ed and pulled out his change of clothes, putting them on.  
Grell watched happily as Will changed.  
"My my Will, have you been working out lately? Those muscles of yous look like they've gotten bigger."  
Will rolled his eyes but said nothing. He finished straightening his tie and pulled out his comb to fix his hair.  
"Honestly Will, we're not even going to be in the office today. You ought to loosen up a bit," Grell said as he got up and went over to Will to muse his hair.  
Will frowned and quickly fixed it.  
"Well, if you won't change your hair, at least loosen your tie or untuck your shirt or something."  
Will loosened his tie a slight bit.  
Grell sighed. "I suppose that's better than nothing.  
"Yeah Boss, come live a little. Follow me and let's get high," Ronald said from out of no where.  
Will looked over to him and raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Knox, are you awake?"  
Ronald sat up, running his fingers through his hair. "Maybe..."  
Will chuckled softly. "I wasn't aware that you were."  
Ronald stretched his back. "Are you two done groping each other now?"  
"Yes Ronnie, we're done now." Grell got up and quickly got dressed.  
"That ain't fair... You two got each other and all I have is my hand," Ronald complained.  
"Awww, is little Ronniekinz lonely?" Grell smirked and ruffled Ronald's hair.  
"Oi, Senpai! Watch the hair!" Ronald frowned, pulling away.  
"Oh, is that curl of your still a bit sensitive?" Grell smirked.  
"Maybe..." Ronald covered his curl.  
"Oh Ronnie, you're so adorable~" Grell smiled happily and grabbed his make up bag, quickly going into the water closet.  
Ronald got up and stretched and started getting dressed himself.  
As Ronald was buttoning his shirt, there was loud cursing coming from the water closet.  
Ronald looked over to the closed door. "Uh... Senpai? Are you all right in there?"  
There was another loud curse.  
Will frowned and walked over to the door, kncoking lightly on it. "Grell? Is everything all right in there?"  
The door opened and Grell came out. Only some of his make up was on. He had applied one set of his eyelashes, but not the other.  
"Will, it won't stay on!" Grell complained, showing him the other set of lashes in his hand.  
Will looked at the lashes then back up to Grell. "I'm afraid I can't really help you with that."  
Grell scowled and tried once more to put the lashes on, but they just wouldn't stay on straight.  
Grell groaned in frustration. "That's it! I give up!" Grell ripped the other lashes off and went back into the water closet, slamming the door shut behind him.  
Ronald looked over to the door. "Don't you think that's a lot of fuss to be making over some make up?"  
"Consider that it is Grell, no. Though I don't make a habit of watching him get ready in the morning, so I wouldn't know."  
Grell came back out a few minutes later, his make up completed. Instead of eyelashes, he had on mascara.  
"All right. I'm ready." Grell was frowning, his arms crossed over his chest.  
"Grell, please do not worry about this. Even with out your make up, you still look beautiful" Will walked over to him and hugged Grell tightly.  
Grell froze, not really having expected the contact.   
"Will...? What are you doing?"  
Will pulled away. "Did you not want me to embrace you?"  
Grell's face was bright red. "I... I just wasn't expecting it."  
The corners of Will's lips pulled up into a small smirk. It was barely perceptible. "I suppose I'm just full of surprised, aren't I?"  
Grell, for once, was absolutely speechless.  
Ronald groaned from the other side of the room. "Ugh... Are you two going to start snogging now?"  
Will rolled his eyes and picked up one of the pillows and threw it at Ronald's head.  
"Oi!" Ronald ducked and avoided the pillow.  
Grell laughed softly. "Come on you two. Let's go get something to eat."  
"Yes. We have a very long walk ahead of us today."  
"Where exactly are we going Boss? We aren't going to look for them in the city?" Ronald asked, running his fingers through his hair.  
"No. They would not stay in the city. Just be prepared to walk Mr. Knox."  
Ronald frowned and stood up. "Can we at least go eat first? I'm starving." He rubbed at his growling stomach.  
"We were about to eat Mr. Knox. You were the one who interrupted."  
Ronald looked down.  
Grell shoot his head. "That's enough you two. Let's go eat."  
Will, Ronald, and Grell all went to the dining cart and sat down in one of the booths. Ronald sat on one side while Will and Grell sat together on the other. Ronald picked up a menu and looked over it, seeing what the cart had to offer.   
Will picked up his own menu and looked it over. Grell scooted closer and looked over Will's shoulder. When Will turned the page, Grell scooted even closer, their thighs now touching.  
Ronald looked up and frowned. "Are you two going to be all couple-y now?"  
Will looked up. "What are you talking about Mr. Knox?"  
"You're sitting all close together, huddled up behind a menu. What do you think I was talking about?"  
"Would you have a problem with that Mr. Knox?" Will placed his hand on Grell's thigh.  
Grell gasped softly and smirked. "My my Will, quite the naughty man you are. Honestly, touching a women like that in public."  
Will kept his hand on Grell's thigh and went back to looking over the menu. Grell smiled softly and placed his hand on top of William's, hoping that he would keep it there.  
Ronald groaned childishly and hid behind his menu.  
The waiter came by moments later. He took everyone's order and went back to the kitchen to fill it. A while later, their food came out and they ate quickly and returned to their compartment to make sure they had all of their things together and that they weren't leaving anything behind. Will checked his pockets, making sure his envelope with the letter from Eric was still there. he pulled out the instructions he had written down to Eric's house and looked over them once more.  
"Will? What's that?" Grell asked, looking over Will's shoulder.  
"Just some directions" Hep put the paper away and picked up his bag. "Are we ready to leave now?"   
"Ready when you are, Boss," Ronald said, picking up his small bag.  
Grell grabbed his own things. "Yes, I'm ready."  
"We can buy some water before we start walking. We should be there by this afternoon."  
"This afternoon? What the hell Boss, are we really going to be walking all that way?" Ronald's eyes widened in surprise.  
Will glared at Ronald. "Yes Mr. Knox. We are. You wanted to come look for them as well, you have no write to complain."  
Ronald looked down and frowned. He didn't enjoy being reprimanded by William.  
Will led Grell and Ronald out of the train station and to the small market. They all bought some water and then they started on their way.  
They had been walking for about two hours and they were just reaching the city limits.  
"Boss..." Ronald complained. "Where are we even going? We've been walking forever!"  
"You'll see when we get there Mr. Knox. Keep walking." Will was panting softly. Knowing that Scotland was north of where he lived, he didn't think it would be so hot during the summer. His suit wasn't helping, but he refused to take it off. He wanted to stop and take a break, but he knew if they stopped, it would take them a very long time to get going again. He wanted to get to Eric's house as quickly as possible.  
After another hour, they reached a large hill. The sun was beaming down on them, making the walk that much more miserable. Ronald's constant complaining wasn't helping all that much either.  
"Boss... Can we please stop? It's really hot..." Ronald whined. He was really lagging behind. He had already removed all of the clothing he could. If they were to be walking for that much longer, his trousers would be the next thing to come off.  
Will was at his wit's end. "We're nearly there Mr. Knox. You can hold out. If not, feel free to turn back and take the first train back to England." Will was tired of hearing Ronald complain. Will was tired too, but he wasn't saying anyting.  
Grell was starting to drag behind as well. "Come one Will. A short break wouldn't hurt all that much. We're all tired, and if we keep going like this, all we are going to do is bicker and snap at each other."  
Will kept walking, ignoring Grell and the intense throbbing in his head.  
"We are nearly there. We are going to keep moving."  
"No we aren't Will. I'm tired, Ronald's tired, and you're tired as well. And my feet are killing me. We're talking a break whether you like it or not."  
Grell went to the side of the road and sat down in the grass. Once Ronald caught up, he joined Grell in the grass.  
Will sighed in frustration. He turned and went to join them in the grass. It felt good to get off of his feet.  
"There. Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Grell asked, resting his head on Will's shoulder.  
Will frowned and looked away. "We'll rest here for five minutes, but then we need to get moving again.  
After five minutes, Will stood up and brushed the dust off of his trousers.  
"Come on Boss... That wasn't a break," Ronald complained.  
"We are moving Mr. Knox. With or without you."  
Ronald frowned but sat up, not saying anything. He didn't want Will to start yelling at him.  
Grell got up as well, and together, they started walking up the hill. It didn't take them long until they were able to see the small house in the distance.  
"Boss? Is that where we're going?" Ronald asked.  
Will nodded. "Yes. This is the place."  
The house sat back, near the woods, a small creek running by it. Now, however, only some of the windows were boarded up.  
"Will? Is this someone's house?" Grell asked as they got closer.  
"It was. But from its obvious state of disrepair, no one lives here now."  
Will walked up to the porch and climbed up the steps. He looked at the door for a few minutes.  
"Is everything all right Will?" Grell asked.  
Will tested the handle. Of course it was locked. He tried knocking. There was no answer, but he wasn't exactly expecting one. He pressed his ear to the door. He couldn't hear anything.  
"Do you really think they're here Boss? It doesn't look like this place has been inhabited for years," Ronald said, looking around the porch.  
"There is a possibility they were here. I will take any hint or clue I can get to determine their whereabouts."  
Will took a few steps back before running at the door, kicking it in.  
"William!" Grell exclaimed. "You can't just go around kicking in doors. At least pick the lock or something."  
Will ignored him and walked into the small house. It was very dark inside. The only source of light was coming in through the doorway.  
"Will... I really don't have a good feeling about this." Grell followed him in, staying close behind him. Ronald followed Grell, holding on to the back of Grell's jacket.  
From the light pouring in from the door frame, Will was able to see some candles on a small coffee table.  
"Do either of you have a match?" He asked, walking over to pick up the candles.  
Ronald rummaged around in his pockets. "I've got a lighter."  
Will held his hand out for it and Ronald handed it to him. Will lit three of the candles and handed one to Grell and one to Ronald.  
"We are going to search the house. If we find nothing, then we will meet back here in fifteen minutes," Will said, starting to explore the kitchen and sitting room area.  
Grell looked around the room and went up the stairs to search the second floor. Ronald found a door and opened it, seeing another set of stairs, only this time, leading down into the basement. As he descended into the basement, the temperature seemed to drop with every step he took. He frowned, holding the candle a bit closer to himself, hoping to receive a bit of warmth from it.  
He reached the bottom of the stair case and held the candle up to try to illuminate the room. It wasn't very bit. Just slightly larger than the kitchen.   
Pushed up against one of the walls was a small desk with a stool. The surface of the desk was covered with books and stray papers. Ronald picked up one of the papers and tried to read it, but was very unsuccessful. It was no more than chicken scratch. He put the paper down and looked at one of the books. It was a Gaelic to English dictionary.  
"Hm... Whoever lived here lived a really long time ago. Not that many people speck Gaelic anymore," Ronald said to himself.  
He looked around the rest of the room. Two of the other walls were bare stone, however, the forth wall had a very menacing looking machine attached to it. Ronald got closer to get a better look at it. As he stepped closer, the room seemed to get colder and colder. He walked until he was standing right in front of it. The machine was making him feel very ill at ease. He held the candle up to get a better look.  
"Bloody hell, it's just a furnace. And here I am thinking that this thing's going to jump out and attack me."  
Ronald chuckled nervously. Discovering the identity of the machine wasn't making him feel any better. A strange feeling of dread was settling over him.  
"That's it. I'm getting out of here. This place is giving me the creeps."  
He headed back for the stairs and took them two at a time until he was finally at the top.  
Grell in the mean time was searching the upper floor. He walked up the steps and opened the first door he found.   
Inside the room was a small water closet. There was nothing remarkable about it inside. He closed the door and went to the next room. It was a small room with a bed in the center. Next to the bed was a small night stand. Against the wall, under the window, was a small table with sewing supplies on it that looked like they hadn't been touched in years.  
"I don't know what Will even hopes to find in this place. It's just some abandoned old house in the middle of nowhere."  
Grell sighed and left the room. He went to the next one.  
Inside of this room was a small bookshelf. Some of the titles he was able to determine to be children's books, but the other, he couldn't even understand what they were saying. They obviously weren't printed in English.  
In the center of the room was a crib. Grell walked up to it slowly, as though it might disappear if he approached it too quickly. He ran his hand along the side. The wood was unpolished, but still quite smooth.  
"This must have been a nursery. There's even a rocking chair in the corner." Grell went over to one of the walls and looked at it. There were little rocking horses painted on them. Some were quite well painted, the saddles artistically designed. The others, however, were quite crudely drawn.  
Grell frowned and left the room.  
"What the hell happened here. It feels as though I'm missing something very important."  
He went farther down the hallway to the last room.   
This room was quite small. There was a nice sized bed in the corner. The sheets were freshly made. Just as though the owner got up one morning and never got the opportunity to lay back down in it.  
In the other corner was a small bookshelf that was cover in the dust.  
The desk facing the window on the other hand was not.  
"That's odd... Someone was staying here recently." He examined the desk more closely.  
"Quite recently. A new layer of dust hasn't even settled here. They couldn't have left long ago, who ever they were. Last night or even this morning."   
Grell continued searching the room. He opened the doors to what he assumed to be a closet. There was nothing inside.  
He then started inspection the drawers of the dresser. In one of the doors was a folded up apiece of paper. Grell unfolded the paper and read it. Written on it was a name. It was written over an over, in a clumsy, messy scrawl, as though someone were trying to practice writing. Not only was the penmanship recognizable, but the name was too.  
Eric Slingby.  
"What?" Grell dropped the letter in surprise. "What is... There's no way this is Eric's house... I know he... I know he lived in Scotland but..."  
Grell quickly picked up the paper and ran down the stairs to show William.  
As Grell and Ronald were looking around, Will was conduction his own search. He looked around the sitting room. The end tables were covered with dust. The tarp covering the couch wasn't. It looked like it had been moved recently.  
Will went into the kitchen and looked around. The dishes were clean and stacked neatly in the cabinet. He went over to the stove. It was still warm.  
"They were here recently."  
He looked by the door. There was a bucket with a bit of water in it.  
Will looked over the table. It was clean and free of dust.  
There were here recently. There was no doubt of that. But where they were going... Will couldn't find any clues for that.  
Ronald came running up the steps just moments later.  
"Mr. Knox? Are you all right? You look as though you've ghost."  
Ronald was doubled over, his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.  
"Mr. Knox?"  
"Don't go down there Boss. You do not want to go down there."  
"What? What did you see?"  
"The furnace. I swear that think almost killed me. "  
Will rolled his eyes. "You are imagining this Mr. Knox."  
Ronald finally caught his breath. "It was still creepy..."  
"That is beside the point Mr. Knox. Did you find anything?"  
"Well... I don't think it's very helpful, but I did find an Gaelic to English dictionary. Whoever lived here must have lived a long while ago."  
"No. That is helpful. We are looking in the right place."  
"So Boss. Did you find anything?" Ronald asked, closing and locking the door to the basement.  
"Yes. The stove was still quite warm. They can't be very far away."  
"Will! Will!" Grell came running down the steps with a paper in his hand.  
"Yes? What is it Grell?"  
"I found something!" It's a paper with Eric's name on it. It looks like he's written it himself." Grell handed the paper over to Will.  
"What?" Ronald went over to Will to look at the paper over his shoulder.  
Will examined the paper. "This is indeed Mr. Slingby's hand writing."  
"Wait a minute Boss," Ronald said. "Are you trying to tell me that this is Eric's house?"  
"Yes," Will replied. "This was his house when he was a human."  
Grell's eyes widened in surprise. "What? You're joking. How would you know that?"  
"Simple. Mr. Slingby told me himself where he used to live when he was alive."  
Ronald frowned. "Why would he tell you of all people?"  
"I've known Mr. Slingby for quite some time Mr. Knox. There are quite a few things that you don't know about me."  
Grell frowned and sighed. "Well, that's great and all that we found where they were, but that doesn't help us find where they are going."  
"You really don't know Grell?"  
"No, of course not! They're no maps, ticket stubs, nothing!"  
"Think about it Grell. Where would Mr. Slingby go if he couldn't stay in the United Kingdom?"  
Grell though for a moment, but wasn't able to come up with an answer. He frowned and shrugged.  
"Isn't it obvious?" Will asked. "He would go to America."  
"America?" Ronald asked. "Why would he go to the States?"  
"Just think about it. Scotland is the only country that has a Scottish Gaelic speaking population, so this naturally would be a place for Mr. Slingby to visit. And outside of the United Kingdom, the United States is the only country with a native English speaking population."  
Grell though it over for a minute. "That does make sense."  
Ronald nodded. "I never would have though about it like that."  
"Wait a minute Will. America is huge. How are we going to search an entire country that big?" Grell asked.  
Will though for a minute. "A ship leaves from the U.K. to America about every two weeks. We can take the boat to America and search the ship."  
"That's all fine and good Will, but no ship leaves from Scotland," Grell said.  
"The ships leave from England and go to Ireland. We can catch the ship from there."  
"But Boss. What if they aren't on the ship?" Ronald asked.  
Grell nodded in agreement. "I want to find them as well Will, but we can't keep searching forever."  
Will frowned. "If we don't find them on the ship, we'll turn around and go back to England. We will declare them dead and move on."  
"Boss!" Ronald exclaimed.  
"There is nothing else we can do at that point, Mr. Knox. As Grell said, we can't keep searching forever."  
Ronald frowned and looked away.  
"We need to get moving. We have to walk back to the city-"  
"Ugh. Boss, more walking? We just got here!" Ronald complained.  
Will glared at him and Ronald shrunk back.  
"Once we get back to the city, we can take a carriage to the harbor and take the ferry to Ireland. From there, we can take the ship to America."  
"But Will. We don't have any clothes," Grell said.  
"Yes, that is true. We can go shopping in Dublin."  
Grell though for a moment. "I can't exactly say not to a shopping trip, can I?"  
Ronald thought for a minute. "I guess I could use a few new suits. Mine are a few years old now."  
"Then it's settled. Let's go." Will blew out his candle and let the wax cool before putting it back on the table.  
Grell and Ronald blew theirs out as well and put them back.  
Will left and started down the dirt path. Grell quickly followed him. Ronald groaned quietly and followed after them.  
They took their time walking back to the city. Once they found a carriage, they hailed it and got in. Will gave the driver directions they were on their way.  
The carriage ride was silent as they rode to the harbor. They got out once they arrived and Will paid the driver. They bought their tickets for the ferry and quickly boarded it.  
The ride to Ireland was also quiet, none of the reapers having much to say. When they arrived, they took their bags and went to the ticket counter.  
"Excuse me ma'am?" Will asked.  
"Yes sir? How may I help you?" Her Irish accent was very thick.  
"Are there any ships on their way to America today?"  
"Yes, there is one, but we only have a few first class suites left," the lady answered.  
"A first class suite then." Will pulled out his wallet, putting a few hundred notes on the desk.  
The woman gasped, not having expected Will to have that kind of money.  
"Yes, that will be enough." The woman looked at the three of them, noticing their lack of bags. "You all do realize that this is a two week trip, yes?"  
Will nodded. "We wanted to make sure that there were still tickets before we brought out luggage."  
Will nodded. "We wanted to make sure that there we still tickets before we brought out luggage."  
"All right... If you say so." The woman stamped the three tickets then handed them to Will, along with his change.  
"Than you ma'am." Will took his change and put it away before handing Ronald and Grell their tickets.  
"Have a nice trip sir."  
Will led Grell and Ronald away from the ticket counter. Ronald had his wallet out and was trying to repay Will for his ticket.  
"Come on Boss, I know those tickets are expensive. Let me pay you back for it."  
"That is not necessary Mr. Knox. Besides, you need to save your money to go shopping. We are holding first class tickets. We will need to dress like it. Human in the first class are quite petty. We will need to blend in or else we are going to bring too much attention to ourselves."  
Grell smiled happily, putting his ticket in his pocket. "Don't you worry about me Will. I can buy all of those gowns I've had my eye on. And I could get new make up and oh~" Grell was nearly bouncing with his excitement.  
"Just don't forget to buy yourselves a trunk. The boat leaves in four hours. We will meet back here in three hours to get on board and get settled."  
"Of course, of course. I'll be here." Grell happily ran off to the different shops.  
"Will you be all right on your own Mr. Knox?"  
"Of course, Boss. I ain't a little kid." Ronald also ran off to the shops.  
"Honestly..." Will sighed and made his own way to the shops. He bought himself new tuxedo shirts and waist coats. He bought a few tail coats and some trousers to match. He also bought socks and new shoes, and some shoe polish so he could keep them nice and shiny.  
He paid for all of his new clothes and left the store. he went to a different store and bought a few silk ties, bow ties, and a handkerchief. They were all black of course.   
As Will was about to pay for everything, he saw a beautiful red silk tie. He looked at it for a moment before picking it up to purchase it. He decided to also get a matching tail coat. It was black with red and gold designs.  
He finished purchasing his clothes and went to go buy a trunk for himself. He put all of the new clothes inside. It was much easier to carry of them like that. He went to a watch store and bought himself a shiny new silver pocket water.  
He went over a check list in his head. Once he believed he had all of the things he would have needed, he went back to the harbor to meet with the others.  
Ronald was already back.  
"Hey Boss. Find everything you need?" Ronald asked. he had a small black trunk by his feet.  
"Yes. Now we just need to wait for Grell to return."  
Ronald chucked softly. "You set Grell Senpai loose near a whole bunch of store Boss. I doubt we'll ever see him again."  
Will frowned. "It will be in his best interest to return on time. I have no qualms about leaving him behind."  
"Ouch Boss. You are cold."  
"Oh Ronnie, he's ice cold and I love him for that~" Grell said as he walked up behind Ronald and Will. He was carrying a large red trunk.  
"Is all of that truly necessary?" Will asked, adjusting his glasses.  
"Of course it is Will darling. I wouldn't be able to fit all of my new gowns in there otherwise."  
Will raised an eyebrow. "Gowns?"  
"Yes Will. Gowns. I said I was going to buy them, didn't I? And I'm not going to wear trousers if I'm given the opportunity to wear a dress." Grell smiled happily.  
"No matter." Will sighed. "Let us get on board and find our suite. It is quite a large ship."  
"Yeah, let's go!" Ronald exclaimed. He was clearly excited. "The last time I was on a boat, I was in third class."  
All three reapers picked up their trunks and boarded the ship. Once of the stewards greeted them, and after looking at their tickets, guided them to their room.  
As soon as Ronald entered the room, he put his trunk in the spacious closet and ran over tot he bed, flopping down on it.  
"Honestly Mr. Knox..." Will sighed and started handing his clothes up on the hangers in the closet.   
Grell took his trunk and shut himself in the water closet, doing death only knows what.  
The suite they were staying in was quite lavish. There were four rooms in total, consisting of two bed rooms, a sitting room, and a small kitchen area. The beds in the bedrooms were very large, easily fitting two or more people comfortably. Both rooms had a small love seat that was set near a window in the wall. There were bookshelves with assorted reading material, and even a table in the corner with sewing and embroidery supplies.  
The sitting room had large, lush couches. Obviously made from the best upholstery money could buy. One of the walls was covered in bookshelves that were filled with various titles.  
The kitchen, compared to the rest of the suite was small. There was a set of dishes in the glass front cabinets. The silver ware, that was made from real silver, was polished to perfection and sitting in the drawers. The sink was small, but still large enough to wash the dishes if one wanted to. The tea set was beautifully hand painted. Each little detail made to perfection.  
Once Will was finished putting his clothes away, he changed into one of the tuxedos he purchased. He looked himself over in the full length mirror, making sure his bow tie was straight and his tail coat properly pressed.  
Ronald wolf whistled from behind him on the bed. "Looking good Boss. I don't think I've ever seen you this dressed up before."  
"May I remind you that we are holding first class tickets Mr. Knox. We ought to dress the part."  
Grell finally came out of the water closet. He was dressed in a beautiful red gown. It had three quarter length sleeves and flared out at his waist. The skirt had an intricate design on it in gold thread. The trim on the bottom was made of golden colored material. Grell had even touched up his make up. He looked very feminine indeed.  
"Grell? Where in death's name did you find something like that?" Will asked, trying to compose himself. His jaw nearly dropped when Grell had stepped out.  
Grell smiled happily. "Do you like it?" He asked, twirling around to give Will a better view.  
"Yes. You look very beautiful."  
Grell's cheeks tinged pink. "Beautiful enough for you to escort around on your arm?"  
Will smiled softly and offered his arm to Grell. "Of course."  
Ronald groaned over on the bed. "You two are going to be all couple like, aren't you?"  
"Oh Ronnie, it's only natural for a gentleman such as Will to have a beautiful lady on his arm," Grell said. His face was positively glowing.  
Will patted Grell's hand gently, a small smile on his own face.  
"Come on... I don't have a girl to escort around," Ronald complained.  
Grell chuckled softly. "I never said you were a gentleman, now did I Ronnie?"  
"Oi!" Ronald sat up, frowning deeply.  
"Come now Mr. Knox. You ought to get changed so we can go to dinner."  
"Wait a second Boss. Don't first class dinners have all those fancy forks and stuff?" Ronald asked.  
"Yes. There are a set of utensils for each course."  
"But how am I going to know what to use? Won't it look weird if I don't know what I'm doing?"  
"Just start from the outside and work your way it. It really isn't' the difficult Mr. Knox."  
Ronald didn't look very convinced, but he got up and changed into one of his new tuxedos. He pulled out a bow tie and tried to tie it. He struggled a few time, cursing loudly before giving up.  
"Would you like some help Mr. Knox?" Will asked.  
"I don't know how to tie this bloody thing." Ronald was grumbling cursed under his breath.  
"Come here Mr. Knox. Lift up your chin."  
Ronald lifted his chin and Will tied the bow tie for him.  
"There. That should stay for the night," Will said, standing back up.  
"Thanks Boss," Ronald said, looking away."  
"Oh Will? Might I asked you a question?" Grell asked, looping his arm through Will's once more.  
"And what might that be?"  
"Well... You know how none of us are related?"   
Will frowned in confusion. "Yes. What are you getting at?"  
"Our eyes. They're all the same color. Won't it look suspicious if they're the same, but we aren't related?"  
Will though for a moment. "You do bring up a valid concern."  
Ronald looked over at them. "But there's nothing we can do about that, right Senpai? We're reapers. We can't change that."  
"You're right in one aspect Mr. Knox. We can not change the fact we are reapers, however, we can change our eyes. Or at least the color of the."  
"What? How?" Ronald asked.  
"We can hide our souls and then our eyes will change back to the color they were when we were human."  
"Woah, really? How do you do that?" Ronald asked.  
Will closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his eyes were a bright icy blue.  
"Boss!" Ronald gasped.  
"They're blue, aren't they?"   
Grell looked to Will. "My my Will, even as a human, you had quite the cold eyes."  
"Yes. They are so bright that they nearly glow in the dark. My parents had no trouble finding me at night."  
"Hey Boss, how did you do that?"  
"I've hidden my soul. You can't sense it can you?"  
Ronald frowned. "No. It's like there's no one there."  
"Yes, they only downside is that we can no longer sense souls when we are like this. That could prove problematic while searching for Mr. Slingby and Mr. Humphries."  
"Then how are we going to find them?"  
"We will have to just search the boat. If they've hidden their souls, even with our souls exposed, we wouldn't be able to sense them. But if they sensed other reapers, then they might hide their souls."  
Grell closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were a soft, warm hazel.  
"Wow Senpai, your eyes are really pretty."  
"Thank you Ronnie~"  
"Now Mr. Knox. You need to hide your soul."  
Ronald frowned. "But Boss. I never learned how to do that."  
"Just close your eyes and imagine you are putting your souls in a box. Imagine you are hiding it in a place where only your will be able to find it."  
Ronald closed his eyes and concentrated hard, his brows furrowed. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes. "Did I do it?"  
Will nodded. "Yes you did Mr. Knox. Good job."  
Ronald smiled softly at the praise. His eyes were a deep blue color.  
"Grell went over to him. "Oh Ronnie, you look more adorable than ever!" He ruffled Ronald's hair."  
"Oi, Senpai! Will you stop doing that?" Ronald pulled away, attempting to fix his hair.  
"Honestly... Let us go to dinner before we miss it. If we are lucky, we might be able to get a table to ourselves."  
He offered his arm to Grell. "Are you two ready to leave?"  
Grell happily hold on to Will's arm. "I'm ready to leave when you are darling."  
Ronald stood up. "Ready to go Boss."  
Will, Ronald, and Grell all left the suite with Will making sure that the door was locked behind them. They found a steward in one of the hallways who gladly gave them directions to the dinning hall.  
All three reapers were awestruck as they entered. The room itself was huge. It was filled with round tables of various sizes, the smallest easily seating seven to eight people. The table clothes were freshly laundered and pressed, not a single stain on any of them. The silverware was polished to a perfect shine, reflecting as well as any mirror. The plates and glasses were the finest money could buy.  
"Boss?" Ronald asked, nudging Will in the side. "Are we really going to eat in here?"  
"Yes, of course. Now. Let's go find a table."  
They picked a table towards the far corner of the room that had been unoccupied. Ronald sat down in one of the chairs and Will helped Grell in to one. Will sat down next to Grell.  
"Hey Boss. Do we have to wait for the food?" Ronald asked.  
"Yes Mr. Knox. They try to wait until most everyone has arrived before serving a meal. Especially on the first night."  
Ronald nodded and started playing with the corner of his napkin, starting to feel a bit out of place.  
After about ten minutes, the dinning hall was really starting to fill up. A small family of a man, his wife, and their son, who couldn't be older than eight, approached the table.  
"Good evening gentlemen and lady." He smiled softly. "My name is Dr. Clayton Pickett. This is my wife Lucy and our son Charles. We were wondering if we might dine with you tonight."  
Clayton was a man of average height. He was taller than Ronald, but not quite as tall a Will. He was a bit on the heavier side. He had medium brown eyes and medium brown hair that was parted on the right. He had a small mustache growing on his lip.  
Lucy was much shorter with light blue eyes and dark blonde hair that she had twisted up into an elegant bun. She was very thin and almost fragile looking. She had a very timid air about her. She was wearing a pale blue gown with matching gloves that went all the way up her arms.  
Charles was quite short, barely reaching Lucy's waist. He had a very child like roundness to his face. His hair was a light brown and styled similarly to his father's. His eyes were a lighter brown. He was holding onto Lucy's hand, trying to hide behind her leg.  
Will sighed internally. He'd been hoping for their own table, but with how full the dinning hall was, that was going to be highly unlikely.  
"Yes, of course. Please have a seat," Will said, gesturing to the empty chairs.  
Clayton helped Lucy into her chair before sitting in his own. Charles sat down next to Lucy in the chair beside Ronald's.  
"Ah... I don't believe I caught your names," Clayton said, trying to break the ice.  
"Of course. I am William T. Spears. This is my partner, Grell Sutcliff, and our friend, Ronald Knox," Will said, gesturing to each person as he said their name.  
"It is a pleasure to meet you all." Clayton smiled warmly.  
"Mr. Spears?" Lucy asked timidly.  
"Yes?"  
"You said that Ms. Sutcliff was your partner. If you don't mind me asking, are you two possibly married?" Her voice had a light airiness to it.  
Will smiled softly. He took Grell's hand and gave it a gentle kiss. "No. We are not married. However, we did just enter a courtship with each other."  
"Ever the gentleman you are Will~" Grell said with a smile.  
Lucy smiled as well. "Of congratulations! I wish you two the best of luck."  
"Thank you very much."  
Ronald turned to Charles. "So I heard your name is Charles."  
Charles nodded shyly. "What's your name?"  
"My name is Ronald Knox. You can just call me Ronald if you want."  
"Okay." Charles was picking at some crayons he had brought with him.  
"What's that you got there?" Ronald asked, trying to get Charles to open up a bit more.  
"Crayons. Do you want to color with me?" He asked, smiling happily.  
"Of course! I love coloring. Did you bring any paper with you?"  
Charles nodded and pulled out the small stack of blank paper he had brought with him. He handed Ronald a few pieces of it.  
"Thanks Charles." Ronald took the paper an Charles handed him a crayon.  
Ronald started coloring on the paper, occasionally looking over to see what Charles was doing.  
Clayton in the mean time was trying to make friendly conversation. "So, Mr. Spears, what do you do for a living?"  
"I am a manager at a corporation. We make gardening supplies."  
"Really? A manager?" Lucy asked. "But you look so young."  
"Yes. I am the youngest manager in the history of the company."  
"Really?" Lucy smiled softly. "That's quite impressive. You parents must be very proud of you."  
Will looked away. "Yes. I'm sure they would be."  
Lucy hesitated a moment. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't realize." Lucy covered her mouth with her hand. Her cheek blushed red.  
"Please don't worry about it. You had no way of knowing."  
Grell patted Will's thigh under the table.  
"Well, I'm sure you've worked very had to get to your position," Clayton said, trying to change the subject.  
"Yes. In only a matter of a few short years, I was promoted to manager. Being twenty three, naturally many people were quite jealous."  
"Twenty three?" Lucy asked. "That really is impressive Mr. Spears."  
"And what about you Mr... Knox?" Clayton asked. "What do you do?"  
"What?" Ronald looked up from his drawing of a new model of a lawn mower. "Oh! I'm a design engineer. Mr. Spears is my manager."  
"Ah, so you work together?" Lucy asked.  
"Yeah. I design the stuff and Boss man approves it."  
"Is that something you're designing right now?" Clayton asked, looking at the paper Ronald was doodling on.  
"Yeah. I have something similar back home, but this one would move much faster."  
Charles looked over to Ronald's paper. "Mr. Ronald?"  
"Yeah Charles?"  
"What's that?" Charles knelt in his chair to get a better view of the picture.  
"It's a lawn mower. It's something I made."  
"Charles, you need to sit down," Lucy said, tapping Charles on the shoulder.  
"But Mum! I can't see!" Charles complained.  
"Charles. No feet in the chair."  
"Mum..." Charles whined.  
"Charles, you need to listen to your mother," Clayton said, sipping at his water.  
Charles pouted but sat back down in his chair.  
Ronald frowned and handed Charles the drawing so he could see. Charles looked at it and smiled.  
"It looks weird!" He giggled softly.  
"No it doesn't!" Ronald feigned insult.  
Charles laughed quietly, then finished his picture before showing it to Ronald.  
"Is that supposed to be me?" Ronald asked, looking at the picture from different angles.  
Charles smiled proudly, happy that someone was able to recognize what he had drawn. "Yeah, it's you!"  
Ronald smiled. "It looks pretty good."  
The picture was crudely drawn, and didn't really look like Ronald at all, but it was the though that counted.  
"Your hair is hard to draw," Charles said.  
"Sorry about that kid. I kinda like my hair like this."   
Ronald tried to hand the picture back to Charles, but Charles shook his head.   
"You can keep it."  
Ronald smiled and folded it up, sticking the picture in his pocket.  
The waiters were now coming around with rolls and offering out the different soups for the night. Grell and Will ordered a chicken broth. Charles got clam chowder.  
The waiter brought back their soups, setting the dishes in front of them.  
"Now Charles, you need to put your napkin in your lap," Lucy said, handing the napkin to him.  
Charles pushed the napkin away, frowning. "I don't want it!"  
"Charles! What did I tell you about shouting at the table?" Lucy reprimanded.  
Charles crossed his arms over his chest. "No!"  
Lucy frowned. She took the napkin back, not wanting to start a scene.  
Charles picked up one of his big spoons and started eating his soup.  
"Wait, Charles. That isn't the right spoon," Lucy said, trying to take the spoon from him.  
"No! Mum, let go!" Charles held on tightly to the spoon, trying to eat with it.  
"But sweetheart, that isn't the correct spoon. You need to use this one." Lucy tried handing him the proper spoon.  
"I want to use this one!" He tried eating his soup, but a lot of it ran down his chin and dripped on to his shirt.  
"Charles..." Lucy frowned, trying to wipe at his shrit.  
Charles squirmed away from her. "Mum, stop!"  
Clayton looked over and frowned. "Charles, you're making a mess. Sit still."  
Charles pouted but sat still. Lucy did her best to wipe his shirt clean. She tried handing him the proper spoon.  
"Now Charles. This is the spoon you need to use for your soup."  
Charles shook his head. "I don't like that one." He held on tightly to his preferred spoon.  
"What?" Lucy looked confused. "What do you mean you don't like this one? It's just a spoon Charles."  
Charles ignored her and continued to eat his soup. He tried to stay neat, but it continued dribbling down his chin.  
"Charles, please!" Lucy continued trying to wipe at his chin, but Charles kept squirming away. While Charles tried to push her hands away, she managed to take the spoon form him.  
"No!" He shouted. "Give it back!"  
"Charles! What did your mother say about shouting at the table?" Clayton scolded.  
Ronald was watching, feeling a bit uncomfortable.   
Charles whined, crossing his arms over his chest.  
"Come now Charles, use this spoon. I promise it's much easier." Lucy tried handing it to him.  
Charles ignored it. "I don't want it."  
"Please Charles?" She tried to hand it to him again.  
Charles took the spoon and threw it on the ground. It bounced and landed a little was away from their table.  
"Charles!" Lucy hit his hand. "We do not throw our sliver ware on the ground!"  
"Ow!" He leaned over in his chair and hit her as hard as he could.  
"Ow! Charles! Why would you do that?" Lucy was rubbing at her arm gingerly.  
"Charles James Pickett! That is enough of this nonsense. Either you are going to listen to you mother and behave, or I am taking you straight back to the room." Clayton's voice was low, but his anger was clearly visible.  
"No! I don't want to!" He screamed. He started crying.  
"That is it." Clayton stood up an picked Charles up, half dragging and half carrying him back to their room. A few people had started staring as they walked out.  
Lucy's face was deep red with embarrassment.  
"I'm so terribly sorry about my son. We've been trying to teach him his manners, but he just won't listen."  
Will nodded in understanding. "It is quite all right. Children his age can be quite unruly."  
Ronald had sunk down in his chair a bit. He felt bad for Charles, but he knew there was nothing he could do.   
A few minutes later, the waiters came by to collect the dishes from the first course and brought over the main dish. It was roast beef with a vegetable medley and mashed potatoes.  
Grell saw his plate and smiled. "It looks amazing." He took a small bite. "And it tastes even better."  
Will tasted his own food. "It is quite good."  
Everyone ate in relative silence.  
After another few minutes, Clayton cam back with Charles walking behind him. Charles's eyes were red and puffy, as though he had been crying. Clayton sat back down and Charles climbed into his chair, kneeling in it.  
"Charles, you need to sit down," Lucy said.  
Charles hesitated. "But my bum hurts..." His voice was little more than a whisper. He was looking down, avoiding everyone's eyes.  
"All right then. Are you ready to eat now?" Lucy asked.  
Charles simply nodded.  
"Good. Now which fork do you use Charles?"  
Charles looked at the forks for a moment and picked up on of the smaller ones.  
"Not quite Charles. You need to use this one." Lucy picked up the correct fork and handed it to Charles.  
Charles took the fork and started picking at his food. He picked up a roll and started nibbling on it.  
"Dr. Pickett, was it?" Will asked, looking up from his plate.  
"Yes. Please, call me Clayton," Clayton said, wiping at his mouth.  
"You are a doctor, yes? Do you work in a hospital, or do you own your own practice?" Will asked, trying to keep a conversation going.  
"Yes. I've been a doctor for five years now. I work at the Royal London Hospital in London."  
"That's quite interesting. I'e hear it takes a lot of schooling to become a doctor."  
"Yes it does. I was in school for six years. It was well worth it."  
Grell looked up. "I had a friend who worked there. She was quite the capable doctor."  
"Well, there are many capable doctors working at the hospital. We do our best to help every person who comes in to feel better."  
Ronald looked down to Charles. "Hey kid. Are you feeling okay?"  
Charles nodded. "I'm okay."  
"Are you sure? You're awfully quiet."  
Charles nodded again. "I'm okay."  
Ronald frowned. He went back to eating. Charles had started eating as well, eating everything but his vegetables.   
"Charles. You need to eat your vegetables or else you won't get dessert," Lucy said, finishing her food."  
Charles put his fork down.  
"Charles? Are you feeling all right?" Lucy asked.  
"I'm okay."  
Lucy frowned, feeling Charles's forehead to see if he had a temperature. "Charles? Don't you want dessert?"  
Charles shook his head. "I'm not hungry anymore." He was squirming in his chair, trying to get comfortable.  
"Charles? Would you like to sit in my lap?"  
Charles nodded and leaned over to Lucy. Lucy picked him up and held him close. Charles buried his face in the crook of her neck. Lucy rubbed his back softly and kissed his cheek.  
"Mum?"  
"Yes Charles?"  
"My bum hurts..."  
Lucy continued rubbing his back. "I can rub some lotion on it later if you'd like."  
Charles nodded and nuzzled into Lucy, holding on to her tightly.  
Clayton looked over, frowning. "Is everything all right?"  
"Yes. Everything is fine. It think he's just tired," Lucy was running her fingers through his hair.  
The waiters were now clearing away the plates. They brought in a slice of cheesecake for everyone with an array of different toppings.  
"Charles? Are you sure you don't want dessert?" Lucy asked.  
Charles noded. "I'm sure."  
Lucy frowned and held him close.  
"I'm sorry for hitting you Mum. And for not listening. I promise I'll be good."  
"It's all right Charles. Just don't do it again, okay?"  
Grell had put some strawberry sauce on his cheese cake and was eating it happily.  
Ronald was merely picking at his.  
"Mr. Knox? Are you feeling all right?" Will asked.  
"I'm fine Boos. I guess I'm just tired."  
"Is that so? Then perhaps you ought to head back to the room?"  
"It's fine Boss. I'll be okay."  
"If you insist." William went back to his cheesecake, enjoying the rich creamy flavor.  
When everyone had finished their desserts, Lucy stood up with Charles in her arms. I'm sorry to leave so soon, but I think it's time I get Charles in bed. He's quite exhausted from the long day. Thank you for allowing us to sit with you. We enjoyed your company very much."  
Grell smiled warmly. "It was a pleasure."  
Clayton looked up to Lucy. "Would you like for me escort you back to the room?"  
Lucy shook her head. "That's quite all right Clayton. I'm just taking Charles back to the room. "You stay here and have your fun." She leaned down and kissed Clayton on the cheek.  
Clayton smiled softly. "All right then. I'll meet you in the room later."  
Lucy smiled softly and left, taking Charles back to the room for the night.  
Clayton was watching as she walked away with a small smile on his face.  
"You seem quite enamoured with her Mr. Clayton," Will said, following Clayton's gaze.  
Clayton's smile grew wider, a slight blush covering his cheeks. "Yes. We've been married for twelve years and my feelings for her are the same as they were on our wedding day."  
Grell smiled brightly, clapping his hands together. "Oh that is so sweet!"  
"Thank you." Clayton's blush grew a bit more. "I was quite lucky in finding her."  
"She seems really nice," Ronald chimed in.  
"Yes. Probably the nicest thing you'll ever met. She's quite easily embarrassed. Did you know she owns her own company?" Clayton asked, quickly changing the subject.  
"Her own company?" Grell asked.  
"Yes. She runs and owns it herself. You've might have heard of it. Lucy's Laces."  
Grell smirked. "Oh yes, I know all about what she makes."  
do? Would you care to enlighten me?"  
Grell chuckled softly. I'll tell you back in the room, Will."  
Clayton chuckled as well and then looked to his watch. "I really ought to go back to my room. Charles can be quite irritable and fussy when he is tired. It was pleasure meeting all of you. Perhaps we could sit together again at breakfast?"  
Will nodded. "Yes, of course. It was a pleasure meeting you as well."  
"I hope you have a pleasant night," Grell said with a little wave.  
Clayton bid them all a good night and went back to join Lucy and Chrles in their room.  
Will looked down to his watch. "It is getting rather late. We ought to head back as well. Mr. Knox, are you coming?"  
Ronald looked up. "Yeah, of course. I'm pretty knackered out."  
WIll stood up and helped Grell out of his chair. "Would you like for me to escort you back to the room?"  
Grell smiled brightly, instantly holding on to Will's arm. "Of course my darling."  
Will escorted Grell back to the room with Ronald close behind.  
Grell went to sit on the love seat and Will sat on the edge of the bed. Ronald simply leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest.  
"Now, for the matter of our sleeping arrangements," Will said, starting to undo his bow tie.  
Grell looked over to the bed. "These beds are much bigger than the ones on train. We could share."  
Will though for a moment. "There are two bedrooms. I would not be opposed to sharing a bed with Grell and allowing Mr. Knox to have the other room for himself."  
Grell looked up surprised. "You wouldn't mind? I honestly was beginning to think that you hated me an were just being nice to me because you felt bad."  
"No Grell. It's quite the opposite. I don't hate you." Will's cheeks tinged pink.  
Grell looked at him with interest. "Are you all right Will? Wait a minute, are you blushing?"  
Will's cheeks turned red. "Perhaps it might be time for you to learn my true feelings about you." Will hesitated, trying to find just the right words.  
"Will? What are you saying?"  
"Grell. I... I am actually quite fond of you. No... It's more than that. I really fancy you." Will's face was bright red. He was nervous and it was showing. It was a rare moment when he had lost his composure.  
"You fancy me?" Grell asked, making sure he had heard Will correctly. "You mean you like me?"  
Ronald was leaning a bit forward, watching the unfolding event with deep interest.  
Will swallowed hard. "Yes. I like you."  
"You like me?" Grell could hardly keep the smile off of his face.  
"Yes Grell. I really do like you. I just haven't known how to express it. For so long I was told that reapers do not show emotions. That emotions were for humans and for the weak. After a century of hearing that, I just couldn't find the right words."  
Grell had happy tears streaming down his face. "Oh Will!" He went over to Will and sat in his lap, and hugged him tightly. "Oh Will, you've just made me the happiest person in the world." Grell buried his face in the crook of Will's neck.  
Will froze at the initial contact, but then hugged Grell back just as tight, holding him close. He rubbed Grell's back softly.  
Ronald smiled happily. "I'm real happy for you tow. Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna head over to the other room before you two start having a shag. Night Boss. Night Senpai." Ronald waved and went into the other room for the night.  
Grell finally pulled away, looking up at Will. Will was looking at Grell with a small smile on his face.  
"We ought to get to bed. It's gotten rather late," Will said.  
Grell rested his head on Will's shoulder. "Of course darling. Will you help me out of my corset?"  
"Corset?" Will asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you truly wearing one?"  
Grell smirked as he stood up and removed his dress to prove that he was indeed wearing a corset. He hung his dress up and leaned against the dresser. "So Will. Would you care to help me?"  
Will stood up and started undoing the laces to Grell's corset. He helped Grell out of it and Grell finished getting ready for bed.  
Will finished changing out of his day clothes and into his pajamas. He climbed into the bed, relaxing happily into it. It felt wonderful on his aching back.  
Grell finished getting changing and climbed into the bed as well. He laid down, wrapping himself up in the blankets. "Oh this feels so wonderful!"  
Will smiled softly. "It does, does it not?"  
"Oh! How is your back Will? I meant to ask you earlier," Grell said, turning over to face Will.  
"Much better." Will pulled the blankets closely around himself. He was exhausted from the long day.  
"That's good." Grell happily cuddled into Will's side and Will held him close. Grell cautiously rested his head on Will's chest, seeing just how far he could go.   
Will froze for a second but then wrapped an arm around Grell, rubbing his back softly. Grell smiled happily, nuzzling into Will's chest.  
"Good night my darling William," Grell said, closing his eyes.  
"Good night Grell." Will smiled softly, pressing a kiss to the top of Grell's head.   
Will took off his and Grell's glasses and placed them on the night stand. He relaxed back into the bed and quickly fell asleep. All three reapers slept quite soundly that night.


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning, Eric was woken up by the gentle rocking of the ship. He sat up slowly. He was a bit sore from being in the cramped bed for so long. He got out of the bed and stretched, frowning at all of the pops and cracks he heard. He then looked over to Alan. The other was still asleep. Eric looked down to his watch. It was actually quite late already.  
"I ought to give him his medicine. Just to get it over with," Eric said to himself. He walked over to Alan and shook his shoulder gently.  
"Hey Alan? Alan, wake up."  
"Hm...?" Alan rubbed at his eyes before opening them. He looked up in Eric's directions sleepily.  
"Morning Alan. How are you feeling?" Eric handed Alan his glasses and sat down on the edge of the bed. He started running his fingers through Alan's hair.   
"Sick..." Alan put his glasses on then coughed and curled up on his side.  
Eric frowned and stroked his cheek gently. "Are you ready for your medicine?"  
Alan frowned deeply. "How bad is it?"  
"Just three pills and..."  
"And what?" Alan asked, looking up to Eric.  
"And a needle... It goes i your thigh."  
Alan sat up suddenly. "A needle?" He started coughing violently.  
"Alan!" Eric pushed him back down so he was laying down again. "Please Alan. It's to help you get better. I'll be as gentle as I can, I promise."  
Alan sighed. "Fine... Let's just get it over with."  
Eric helped Alan sit up again and gave him the three pills and a glass of water. Alan took the pills quickly and drank some of the water before handing the glass back to Eric. In the mean time, Eric was preparing the syringe. He transferred the medicine from the ampule to the syringe and got an alcohol pad and a band ail. He sat back down on the bed and took the glass of water, placing it back on the night stand.   
"Ready Alan?"  
Alan sighed. "Ready as I'll ever be."  
"All right then. Lower your trousers."  
"What?" Alan looked at him, surprised.  
"I need you to lower your trousers. It goes in your thigh, remember?"  
"Oh... Right, of course." Alan started pushing his trousers down. When he was done, he shut his eyes tight and turned his head away.  
"Just relax Alan. It'll hurt less that way." Eric started cleaning his thigh off with the alcohol pad.   
Alan nodded but it was very rigid and stiff. Eric could feel Alan's thigh tense under his touches.  
"Come on Alan, you need to relax."  
Alan didn't move a muscle.  
Eric leaned in a bit closer, making sure that Alan's eyes were still closed and kissed him deeply. Alan mad a started noise before slowly kissing him back just as deeply.  
Eric pulled away after a minute, smiling softly at Alan.  
"Is that a bit better?"  
Alan nodded, a bit breathless.  
"Good." Eric quickly stuck the needle into Alan's thigh and injected the medicine. Alan bit his lip and whimpered softly, but stayed still. When Eric was done, he put the band aid on Alan's's thigh and applied a bit of pressure to make sure it wouldn't bleed before kissing it gently.  
"There. I'm all done." He threw away all of the trash and sat back on the bed with Alan.  
Alan didn't say anything.  
"You okay Alan? You're really quiet."  
Alan nodded again.  
"Come here love." Eric picked Alan up carefully and sat Alan in his lap.  
Alan instantly nuzzled into him and Eric rubbed his back. Alan was still feeling a bit warm, but not as warm as he did yesterday.  
"It's all right Alan. I'm all done now."  
Alan buried his face in the crook of Eric's neck.  
"Are you up for eating at all?" Eric asked.  
Alan nodded. "I am a bit hungry."  
"Ill go find you something to eat." Eric set Alan down in the bed. He stood up and rubbed at his eyes.   
"Eric? You might want to fix your hair first."  
Eric frowned. "What's wrong with my hair?"  
Alan chucked softly then coughed. "It looks as though you've just had a shag."  
Eric laughed as well and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to get it to lie down more.  
"There. Is that better?"  
Alan smiled. "Much better."  
"Good. Now to get you something to eat. Did you ave anything in mind?"  
"As long as it isn't oatmeal, anything is fine."  
Eric smiled. "All right then."  
Eric got up and left the room He walked down the hallways, searching for the dinning hall. After a few minutes, still wasn't able to find it. He felt as though he was going in circles. He saw a woman leaning against the railing a few feet in front of him.  
"Excuse me ma'am. Could you help me with something?"  
The woman looked up. "Hello there. What's your name?"  
Eric hesitated. "My name is Eric."  
"Nice to meet you Eric. My name is Sarah. Now. What can I help you with?" Sarah asked.  
"Do you happen to know where the dinning hall is? I've been searching for a while and I can't fine it."  
Sarah smiled softly. "Aye, of course. It's right down the hall and to the right," she said, pointing.  
Eric smiled and nodded. "Thank you."  
"And the food is actually pretty good. You know, for third class."  
"That's good to hear. Nice to meet you Miss. Sarah."  
Eric gave a small bow before leaving. He went in the direction that she had painted to an easily found the dinning hall. He got a plate and put a few pieces of toast on it. He got a few pieces of bacon and a scoop of eggs. He got a glass of orange juice for Alan. He carefully balanced the food and juice on a tray and took it all back to their room.  
When he got back, Alan was sitting, propped up on some pillows with the blankets wrapped around him.  
"Hey. I brought you some food." Eric took the tray and sat down next to Alan on the bed.   
"It smells pretty good." Alan smiled softly.  
"Well, don't get too excited. It's third class, remember?"  
Alan looked around. "This is third class? It's not that bad. I quite like it."  
Eric smiled. "That's good. I would have gotten us second class tickets, but they were all sold out. And there was no way in hell I could afford first class."  
"I quite like it here. Though the mattress is quite thin and the blankets a bit scratchy, it's quite cozy."  
Eric smiled softly. "All right then. That's enough talking out of you." He handed the plate to Alan. "Eat up."  
Alan took a piece of toast and started nibbling on it.   
"How is it?" Eric asked, putting the juice on the night stand so it wouldn't spill on the bed.  
Alan was nearly done with the toast when he sat it down.  
Eric looked over, a bit concerned. "Is that all you're going to eat?" He asked, frowning.  
"Sorry Eric. I'm really not that hungry."  
"If you say so." Eric handed Alan the juice so he could drink it.  
Alan took a few slow sips. "Just because I'm not eating doesn't mean that you don't have to.  
Eric shook his head. "I'm not hungry. You go ahead and eat.  
Alan frowned. Eric, this isn't like you. Please eat something."  
Eric still refused. "Don't worry about me Alan. I'm here to take care of you. Not the other way around."  
"But you can't take care of me if you don't take care of yourself first. I won't have you passing out because you refuse to eat."  
Eric frowned but picked up a piece of toast and a few pieces of bacon and started eating them.  
"Thank you Eric." Alan took Eric's free hand and held it.  
Eric smiled softly.  
When they were both done eating, Eric took the half empty tray back to the dinning hall so that the dishes could be washed. He went back to the room and sat down with Alan. Alan laid his head on Eric's lap. Eric smiled softly and ran his fingers through Alan's hair, brushing it out of the other's face.  
Alan looked up at Eric, smiling softly. He suddenly frowned. "I feel bad that I'm keeping you cooped up in here."  
"It's fine. I just want you to get better. I'm getting kind of used to it anyway. And then when you're better, we can go explore the ship together." Eric leaned down to press a gentle kiss to Alan's forehead.  
Alan took Eric's hand and kissed it, holding on to it tightly.  
"Do you suppose they have a library down here Eric?"  
Eric frowned. "They probably won't... Usually most of the people staying in third class can't read. There wouldn't be much of a point."  
Alan frowned. "Ah... I see."  
Eric thought for a moment. "What if one day when you're feeling better, we sneak you up to second class so you can check out a few books. How's that sound?"  
Alan looked up at him. "What? Eric, if we get caught, we'd get in so much trouble..."  
"We don't get caught Alan. You worry too much."  
"Well... I wouldn't mind getting a few new books. It does sound nice. I've read all of the ones in my trunk already."  
"Well, you think about it for a bit. It's not like we're going right now."  
"All right then." Alan closed his eyes, relaxing into Eric's touches. He was having trouble staying awake.  
"Hey Alan?"  
"Hm...?" Alan looked up at him sleepily.  
"If you're tired, you can go to sleep. You need all of the sleep you can get so you get get better and focus on healing."  
"I would go to sleep but..."  
Eric looked down at him. "But what?"  
"I really need to use the loo."  
Eric chuckled softly. "All right then, let's get you to the loo. Do you want to walk or do you want me to carry you?"  
Alan thought for a moment. "I'd like to walk, but I'm not sure if I can."  
"I can help you to the loo if you want. Then, if your legs give out, I can carry you."  
"Okay."  
Eric wrapped an arm around Alan and helped him stand up. Alan's legs were very shaky, but he stayed standing with Eric's help. Eric took Alan's pace and leg him over to the loo. He set Alan down on it and gave him some privacy. When Alan was done, Eric helped him over to the sink so he could was his hands. Once he finished, he helped Alan back into the bed.  
Alan relaxed into the mattress and Eric tucked him in.  
"It can't be very exciting to watch after me like this. Go out and get some fresh air Eric. I know you don't enjoy being cooped up like this no matter how much you get used to it."  
"Don't worry about me Alan. I don't mind."  
"I'm just going to take a nap. It's really nothing that exciting."  
"But what if you wake up and you needed something?"  
Alan took his hand. "I'm going to sleep for a few hours. Please go do something."  
Eric frowned. "I'll go find something to do. But I'll only leave after you fall asleep."  
"Then how will I know that you actually went and did something?"  
Eric squeezed Alan's hand gently. "I promise I'll go out."  
Alan deliberated for a moment, but finally gave in. "If you say so."  
Eric kissed Alan's temple. "Now you get some sleep. I'll see you in a little while."  
Alan smiled softly and closed his eyes. He fell asleep quickly.  
Eric waited a moment to make sure that Alan was asleep before sliding his hand out of the other's grasp. He got up quietly, trying to refrain from making a noise. He went over to the closet and pulled out his trunk. He rummaged around in it until he found what he was looking for. A carton of cigarettes and a lighter. He made sure Alan was asleep before slipping them into his pocket and sliding out the door, closing it quietly behind him.  
Once Eric was out of the room, he walked up a flight of steps until he reached a railing. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He enjoyed the calming effect it provided for him. He knew Alan didn't like him smoking, but sometimes, it was the only way to calm him down.  
He finished his first cigarette and lit a second one. He was halfway through it when someone joined him on the railing.  
"Afternoon Mr... Eric was it?"  
Eric looked over and saw Sarah leaning on the railing with him.  
"Hey there. And aye. It's Eric. You're Miss. Sarah, right?"  
"Aye. Now, what's a handsome mane like you doing out here all by your lonesome?" She asked.  
"Just walking around while my wife takes a nap. She hasn't been feeling too great lately so I wanted her to get some sleep. But she said I had to get out while she was sleeping. I don't really leave the room much."  
"Ah. Hopefully she feels better. It can't be much fun to be sick on a boat."  
Eric nodded in agreement and threw his cigarette butt over board. "It's never much fun to be stuck in bed in the first place. That's why she sent me out. She knows I don't like being cooped up, but I don't say anything about it."  
"Trying to get out? Then I know the perfect place for you to go." She had a bright smile on her face.  
"Is that so? We're on a boat. Where could we possibly go?"  
Her smile only grew wider. "You see, they set up this pub, not too far down the hall. They've always got music and plenty to drink. They've got ore bottles of whiskey than I can count. And I may be from a farm but I can count pretty high."  
Eric smiled softly. "Sounds like my kind of place then. And while a good bottle of whiskey does sound nice, I can't exactly get drunk right now."  
Sarah started ushering Eric down the hall to the make shift pub. "Oh, a glass or two won't hurt you. Go on and relax a little!"  
"Okay, okay, I'm going. You don't have to push me the whole way."  
Eric picked up the pace and started walking with her to the pub. As soon as he stepped in, the smell of smoke and strong liquor assaulted his nose. He smiled happily. "And it looks like they've got the good stuff."  
"Of course they've got the good stuff. Most of us down here are Irish. If they didn't, the crew would have a sure riot on their hands. And I hear that the Captain is Irish, so he'd know exactly what we'd want!" Sarah exclaimed.   
She led Eric to the little bar and ordered them both a glass of whiskey. Eric took his glass and took a sip as he started looking around the room. It was decently sized and it was packed with people. There was a little band playing a traditional Celtic jig. The fiddle player was quite exceptional. There was a small space that had been cleared for the people to dance, and many people were crammed in it trying to do just that.  
"So, what do you think?" Sarah asked, leaning against the bar.  
"It's definitely quite lively. I'll have to come back and visit here more often." He finished his whiskey and set the empty glass on the counter.  
"Of course. There's always a party of sorts going on down here. And I can guarantee you'll love each and every one."   
Eric smiled. "Well then. Thanks for bringing me down here, but really ought to get back to my wife. She should be waking up soon." Eric was feeling much more relaxed then when he got there.  
"So soon? But you practically just got here!"  
"I know, but I'm really worried about her. I don't wan to leave her alone for too long."  
"All right then, if you say so. Hopefully she get better soon so I can meet her."  
"Hopefully. Thanks for the drink Miss. Sarah." The probability of him bringing Alan here was quite low.  
Sarah smiled and simply waved.  
Eric turned and left, taking his time to get back to his cabin. He quietly opened the door and peeped his head in. It looked as though Alan was just waking up.  
"Eric? Is that you?" Alan's voice was hoarse from all of the coughing he had been doing.  
"Aye, it's me." Eric shut the door behind himself. "How are you feeling?"  
Alan rubbed at his eyes and shrugged.  
Eric frowned and handed him his glasses. Alan put them on.  
"So, is that a bad you don't know?" Eric asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.  
Alan thought for a moment. "No, I think it's more neutral than any-" Alan frowned. "Eric, were you out smoking?"  
"What? Smoking? Of course not!" Eric's voice was nervous. "I was just in a pub and they were smoking in there."  
Alan didn't look to happy. "Then why do you smell so heavily of smoke. Just being around people who were smoking wouldn't leave this heavy of a scent. You better not be lying to me."  
Eric frowned. He couldn't keep this up. "Aye... I was smoking. But I was stressed and it was only two and-"  
"Eric! You know I don't like you smoking! It's a disgusting habit." Alan crossed his arms over his chest.  
"Alan... I don't do it all the time now. Only when I'm really stressed about something."  
"That's not the point Eric! I don't want you doing it at all!"  
Eric sighed and looked away. There was no way he was going to win this argument. "I'm sorry Alan."  
"At least go brush your teeth or change your clothes or something. You smell awfully and it's making me sick." Alan's face was a bit green.  
Eric got up and grabbed a fresh change of clothes and went to the water closet. He changed into the new clothes and brushed his teeth very thoroughly. He put the dirty clothes away and went back to the bed.   
Alan looked up at him. "Much better.  
Eric sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.  
"I'm sorry for snapping at you Eric, but you know how much I dislike it when you smoke."  
"It's fine Alan. I shouldn't have done it."  
Alan sighed and took Eric's hand. "You have other options you know. Even if I'm sick, you can still come talk to me. I'll always listen. Even if I'm the one causing you stress. Please come talk to me. We're partners. We should be able to tell each other anything."  
"I know but..." Eric sighed heavily.  
Alan gave Eric's hand a gentle squeeze. "I know I'm one of the main things you stress about, but you can still tell me about it. I want to help you Eric but you don't let me in. I can't help you if you don't talk to me."  
Eric gave Alan's hand a gentle kiss, knowing that Alan wouldn't allow him to kiss him on the lips just yet. "I know I can. I just want you to get better. I don't want to burden you with all of my problems when I know you've got enough of your own to deal with. I'll be fine."  
Alan sighed but rested his head in Eric's lap. The smell of smoke was still present, but it was greatly muted.  
"Are you hungry Alan? It's nearly lunch time." Eric asked.  
Alan nodded. "What time is it?"  
Eric looked down at his watch. "Well... It's actually almost dinner time. I just happened to catch the tail end of the breakfast queue this morning."  
"Hm... When you come back, maybe you could talk about what else you did while you were out? You mentioned a pub." Alan sat up a bit and Eric propped the pillows underneath of him to help him stay up.  
"Of course! When I get back, I'll tell you all about it."  
"All right then." Alan smiled softly.  
Eric got up and made his way to the dinning hall again, this time, finding it with ease. He put an assortment of foods on a plate to let Alan pick what he wanted. He got two rolls, one for Alan and one for himself and two glasses of juice. He carefully balanced everything on a try and went back to the room.  
Alan looked over when he heard the door open. "Well, that certainly smells interesting."  
"Eric smiled apologetically. "Sorry love. There's not much I can do about it. I don't work in the kitchen. But on the one hand it looks like your sense of smell is returning."  
"I know you don't. The food would smell much nicer if you did."  
Eric sat down on the edge of the bed with the tray in his lap. Alan picked up one of the rolls and started eating at it. As he ate, a bit of color returned to his face.  
Eric smiled softly. "You look like you're feeling better. You sound like it too. You've got a bit of color in your face." Eric stroked Alan's cheek softly.  
Alan returned the smile and a light blush colored his cheek and the gentle caress. "I am feeling better than earlier. Not completely back to normal, but I'm getting there."  
As they ate, Eric told Alan all about the pub he visited earlier, about the band, the drinks and even the people. He even told Alan about Sarah and how she showed it too him in the first place.  
When they finished eating, Eric took all of the plates back to the dining hall and went back to the bedroom. Alan was still awake when he got back.  
Eric sat on the edge of the bed and ran his fingers through Alan's hair. "You know, your fringe is getting a bit long. When's the last time you had a hair cut?"  
Alan looked up at him, relaxing into the touches. "It has been a while, hasn't it. A good few weeks I think."  
"Hm... Was there anything you wanted to do before you go to sleep for the night?" Eric asked.  
Alan thought for a moment. "I have a few books in my trunk. Could you go pick out one and perhaps read it to me?"  
Eric frowned slightly. "Alan, you know I'm not that good at reading."  
"That's perfectly fine Eric. I really just want to listen to your voice. It's quite soothing And you'll never get better at reading if you don't practice it."  
Eric sighed but got up and when to Alan's trunk. He picked out one of the books and sat on the bed.   
"I'm ready for story time Eric." Alan smiled happily, laughing softly.  
Eric chuckled softly then opened up the book. He took a deep breath and started reading slowly. He had a bit of trouble with pronunciations and stumbling over words, but it wasn't as bad as it usually was.  
Alan smiled softly as Eric read to him, occasionally helping him with words, or giving him the definition to a word he didn't know or wasn't sure of. He tried fighting off the waves of sleep, but they soon crashed over him.  
Eric looked up when he heard soft snoring. He kissed Alan's forehead and closed the book. He got up slowly and went to lay in his own bed. He read the book to himself for a little while longer before going to sleep. He wanted to stay up a bit longer, but the constant worrying over Alan and taking care of him was really wearing him down.


End file.
